Fiery Red Horizon
by Kage Kashu
Summary: Sequel to Mako Blue Horizon. With Cloud's death weighing heavily on everyone's minds, the journey becomes tainted with a need for revenge. During the while Cloud finds out just how hard it is to deal with a madwoman. !Updated! Chapter 11!
1. Prologue

Title: Fiery Red Horizon  
  
Chapter: Prologue  
  
Chapter Title: Prologue  
  
Author: Kage Kashu  
  
Archive: Ask. Give credit where it's due. Then... ?  
  
Genre: General. Humor/Drama/Angst/Romance/Action/Adventure  
  
Story Summary: Sequel to Mako Blue Horizon. With Cloud's death weighing heavily on everyone' minds, the journey becomes tainted with a need for revenge. During the while Cloud finds out just how hard it is to deal with a madwoman.  
  
Chapter Summary: Cloud meets someone in the lifestream... and a couple of Cloud's employees find a sleeping Zack on the way back to Icicle Inn.  
  
Disclaimer: Dun own them, wish I did.  
  
Author's notes: You need to have played the game to get this part. Things get stranger. And I figure... Normal thinking is between 'these things'. Jenova is going to be between -these, 'cause I didn't feel like being more creative for her-. And Aerith is going to be between ~these~. And Sephiroth's younger self is going to be between \these\. (Yeah, that works!) I suppose I also need something for talking through electronics. So, that will be in between =these=.  
  
Warnings: Very AU. Creepy obsessive chick... and that's about it.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Unknown  
  
A soft swirling, glowing green floated around Cloud. Like Sephiroth's eyes. His eyes slipped closed and he drifted. It was so warm, so pleasantly warm. But there was something wrong. He didn't know what it was, but there was definitely something not right. Not right on such a deep level that it was hard to believe that anything was right...  
  
But what was it? There was the feel of a hand running through his hair... it felt nice, just like when he was little, missing his sister... his mother would do that... Just sit there, with him laying partially in her lap, with her hands running through his hair. He sighed softly, still not sure what exactly was wrong, but unable to shake the feeling.  
  
Hands in his hair... Who? The hands didn't feel big enough to be Sephiroth's... and they were to big to be his mother's... He listened as a soft voice spoke to him from beyond his mental haze.  
  
"Such a nice boy..." the voice sighed, "I couldn't leave you with -him-, no that wouldn't do at all... You're mine now. You'll stay with me." A hint of pain entered the voice, "You can't leave me too. You'll stay with me. I won't leave you... And I won't let -him- have you..." The voice sighed again, "So lovely. You belong to me now... I won't let you go. Such a lovely boy... I won't hurt you... You can't leave me, now. -He- won't have you."  
  
Cloud opened his eyes, to find himself staring into emerald green.  
  
"You have such lovely eyes..." she sighed. "You can't go." She wrapped her arms around him as he tried to move away. "I went through so much to bring you here..."  
  
Cloud found himself panicking. No. He couldn't stay here... not with her!  
  
"Tears? Why aren't you happy?" She placed one hand on his face as he tried to pull away again. "-He- can't have you! Mine... No more tears..." she brushed a hand lightly over his eyes. "I won't let -him- take you away. Never go..." Her voice turned pleading. "No tears... Such lovely eyes... Don't cry." She pulled him closer. "I didn't mean to hurt you... Never again. You won't be hurt again. Ever. No one will hurt you... Please don't cry..."  
  
Cloud tried to push her away. "Go away..." he gasped, shutting his eyes tightly. He had to go back!  
  
"You can't run now," she admonished him. "Mine now... I won't let you go..."  
  
~*~  
  
Great Glacier  
  
The dark skinned man walked silently (for once) next to his pale companion. They had just gotten news of the boss' death. And now... Fujin was silent as stone. He wished she would say something, anything. He just followed her down the path. Nearby was a cavern that they would probably use to get off of the Glacier, and get headed back to Icicle Inn.  
  
There it was. "Fujin? We goin' that way, ya know?"  
  
She nodded silently.  
  
He rubbed the back of his head. Usually she'd say something... maybe the boss' death had hit her hard. After all, they'd owed him a lot. Their entire livelihood they owed him. They still had their jobs, yeah... but Strife Inc just wouldn't be the same without Cloud Strife. Raijin climbed into the cave, and was shocked to trip over something... no. Someone.  
  
"Uhm... Fujin? I think we got a dead one, ya know?"  
  
She climbed up after him, placing a small hand to the man's neck. "ALIVE."  
  
"He's alive? Unconscious and dressed like that? That's... I don't know what to say, ya know?" He shook his head, removing his coat, and placing it over the man's shoulders. He shook said shoulder, for good measure.  
  
The man groaned, "Ma... don' wanna get up yet..."  
  
He shook the shoulder harder.  
  
The man's eyes opened blearily. "What time is it?"  
  
Raijin snorted. "Four in the afternoon, ya know? What are you doing out here dressed like that? It's dangerous, ya know..."  
  
The man sat up, yawning hugely.  
  
Raijin pulled back when he saw the teeth. A rather sharp set of fangs set in the midst of an otherwise normal set of teeth.  
  
"EEP," said Fujin.  
  
"Wha?" asked the man.  
  
Raijin scratched at his leg, surreptitiously. "Uhm... your teeth, ya know?"  
  
"Eh?" The guy put a hand to... and partially into... his mouth. He pulled it out and cursed. "Man... it was bad enough when it was just my hands..."  
  
Raijin glanced at the hands. They seemed to be perfectly normal.  
  
"Uhm... Yeah..." The guy yawned again, and nodded at them. "Zack. You?"  
  
"Raijin. And this is Fujin, ya know?"  
  
Zack shook his head with another yawn. "No, I didn't... but do you know what way to Icicle Inn?"  
  
Raijin nodded. "We were just heading there, ya know. You're lucky we came across ya... You'd better keep my coat, ya know, if you don't want to get sick."  
  
Fujin silently tapped Raijin's shoulder.  
  
"Oh, we should get going, then, ya know?"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
*sniffles* *still recovering from the end of Mako Blue Horizon*  
  
Angefantasy, Ano... it could have been avoided, I suppose, but it would have taken away a lot of the emotional value of the story, methinks... Actually, Cloud kissed Seph on the forehead, when Seph was unconscious... although, something tells me that that doesn't really count. =¬.¬=  
  
Miniature Rant of the Day-  
  
On absolutely nothing. Because I can't think of anything to rant on at the moment, and I'm all ranted out... would this count as a rant?  
  
If you actually read my rants, thank you.  
  
Thank you, for reading. 


	2. Corral Valley Caves

Title: Fiery Red Horizon  
  
Chapter: 1  
  
Chapter Title: Corral Valley Caves  
  
Author: Kage Kashu  
  
Archive: Ask. Give credit where it's due. Then... ?  
  
Genre: General. Humor/Drama/Angst/Romance/Action/Adventure  
  
Story Summary: Sequel to Mako Blue Horizon. With Cloud's death weighing heavily on everyone' minds, the journey becomes tainted with a need for revenge. During the while Cloud finds out just how hard it is to deal with a madwoman.  
  
Chapter Summary: Gelinka returns to Shinra's hands (not that you all knew it was missing...)... and we check on the group...  
  
Disclaimer: Dun own them, wish I did.  
  
Author's notes: You need to have played the game to get this part. Things get stranger. And I figure... Normal thinking is between 'these things'. Jenova is going to be between -these, 'cause I didn't feel like being more creative for her-. And Aerith is going to be between ~these~. And Sephiroth's younger self is going to be between \these\. (Yeah, that works!) I suppose I also need something for talking through electronics. So, that will be in between =these=.  
  
Warnings: Very AU. A very vapid seeming man... (I've given Reeve a brother... =¬.¬'=) A bit contemplative, not too much going on.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Junon Offices  
  
Tseng narrowed his eyes on the man. "Laguna Reeve? Pilot of the Gelinka zeppelin?"  
  
The man he was speaking to nodded, with a slightly vapid smile.  
  
"Any relation to a Kyle Reeve?"  
  
The man's smile slipped briefly. "Yes?"  
  
Tseng sighed. This man didn't even seem to know what he was talking about. "You expect me to believe that you are the man who disappeared 23 years ago, flying out from Wutai, after the war?"  
  
"Yes," the man's answer was somewhat more confidant now.  
  
"Who was second mate on the zeppelin, then?"  
  
"Julia Heartily. She was pretty. Kind of scary, though..."  
  
'How did he know that?' Tseng wondered. "What was her rank?"  
  
"Senior lieutenant. I remember that, 'cause she was yelling at the grunts all the time... She was yelling at Ward, too, although I don't know why... The man's mute, you know. How did he manage to piss her off like that?" The man flicked his long hair back from his shoulder with his left hand. Soft blue-grey eyes stared at him as the man continued to smile vapidly.  
  
"How is it that you know this?"  
  
"I lived with her for three years. I know. She was actually complaining that when we got back, she'd have me stripped of my rank..." he shrugged. "Actually, that's why I'm here... I was so busy, you know, with all of those papers, again, that, well... Uhm... What was I saying?"  
  
Tseng sighed. "Why you're here...?" he prompted.  
  
"Oh, yeah! Turning in my old report... I still wrote it... I just never got a chance to turn it in... Oh! And I'm quitting." 'Laguna Reeve' nodded. "Yeah... Oh!! Kiros and Ward do too... I'm supposed to send that one on for them..."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"My subordinates. Best buddies a guy could have," Laguna grinned.  
  
Tseng held up a picture. "Is this the Kyle Reeve that you know?"  
  
Laguna took the picture, staring at it for a moment. "It could be. Actually, I think it is. Dad didn't look like that, but close... I haven't seen Kyle since he was seven, so I'm not sure."  
  
"How are you related?" Tseng inquired.  
  
"Brother... Why are you asking me, anyway?" Laguna asked, looking mildly confused.  
  
Tseng stared. No way. The man looked nothing like Reeve...  
  
"I know exactly what you're thinking," said Laguna, "That I don't look anything like him, and therefore can't be related... but I took after Mother, and he took after Father. So, it's all plausible." He waved a hand about in a rather amusing fashion.  
  
"Not really," Tseng spoke sourly, "You still haven't told me why you look like you're in your mid-twenties."  
  
The vapid smile returned to the man's face, "Good genes?"  
  
Tseng growled. "Not acceptable."  
  
The smile remained in place. "I don't have a ready explanation... Mother's people are long-lived." He shrugged.  
  
"So. You are returning your zeppelin?" Tseng asked, still wondering if the man was just a loony-bin-escapee.  
  
"Uhm... about that..." Laguna shifted in his seat. "I kinda crashed it."  
  
"Kinda?" Tseng asked, mildly amused.  
  
"Uhm... I was distracted while at the controls... by a leg cramp actually... and Julia was yelling at me... that just made it worse... and... well..." He shifted again. "You know... we went down... boom." He then nodded really fast, "It's okay, now, though... I mean... that's how I got back here, yeah?"  
  
He blinked. "How's that again?"  
  
Laguna flicked his hair back again. "We got it fixed, man. It's all cool."  
  
"And it took you about 25 years to come back?"  
  
That vapid smile... was beginning to annoy him. "Well, I forgot. I was so busy... man, I hate paperwork!"  
  
"You've been doing paperwork... for over 20 years?"  
  
Another quick nod. "Actually, almost. Y'see, at first, we were just crashed... And then that... Well, there's a really long story involved there... and people have a tendency to hit me when I try and tell it, so..." the hands waved about again, "I'll just shut up now."  
  
Tseng laughed sourly, "No, I'm curious. Do tell."  
  
Laguna grinned, "From the beginning? You'd probably want to know just how we got so far off course, ne?"  
  
~*~  
  
Corral Valley Caves  
  
Cid hung near the back of the group. He didn't feel like trying to keep up with Sephiroth, who moved rather quickly and sharply now that he had a "purpose". While he understood the anger Sephiroth felt, he wasn't so certain if it would be much of a help.  
  
As for himself...well, he had a feeling that Cloud didn't give up that easily. If he knew Cloud at all, his nephew had been planning something big. Whatever it was... Cid found himself looking forward to it. He just hoped that it would be something he could see, when the time came.  
  
Vincent paused in front of him, and he looked up to see what had caused the man to stop. Vincent was just looking at him. He lifted an eyebrow in inquiry.  
  
"Are you alright?" Vincent murmured quietly. "You've been silent... and that doesn't really seem like you."  
  
Cid scratched the back of his head, "Been thinkin', 's all."  
  
"What about?"  
  
He blinked. Wasn't Vincent usually annoyed with his talking? "'Bout Cloud and all... It just seemed like there was something bigger goin' on, beside that..."  
  
Blood red eyes blinked at him. "Like?" he prompted.  
  
"Like he was planning something..." He rubbed the back of his head. "He normally wouldn't have let himself be caught off guard like that, you know?"  
  
Vincent nodded, silently agreeing. There must have been a really good reason for what Cloud did.  
  
~*~  
  
Reeve had fallen a bit behind the others. Cait Sith hunkered on his shoulder, silent but for a slight whirring that you could only hear with your ear right up to his body.  
  
He was breathing rather heavily. Before beginning to travel with them, he hadn't really gotten much exercise, so he wasn't up to all of this...  
  
And so, he fell behind.  
  
Cait Sith placed a paw on top of his head. "Reeve?"  
  
"Yes?" he sighed.  
  
"Are you alright?"  
  
He nodded silently, and sped his pace, in order to catch up. "I can't help but think... There's something... We're just heading for worse trouble than we're already in..."  
  
"No kidding..." The cat leaned forward. "You know... I think I misread that fortune... it was the sun that was lost..."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Wah... *sniffles* You all know the drill... read review. *sniffles*  
  
Angefantasy, I told you she would get worse! God, though, sometimes I disturb myself... (That being a little scene between Aerith and Cloud that I had been planning for a long time...) Mmm... I'll probably bring Siefer in later... As well as others. =^.~=  
  
Danyella Skyler Silverfire, Aa... sad, ne? =v.v= Mou, of course you know what's going on... Partly. Been thinking a bit. So there may be a bit of unexpected... (Did you like how I included Snow? I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get around to it...)  
  
Miniature Rant of the Day-  
  
On Laguna!: Honestly, he's my absolute favoritest character in FF8. He's cute, charming (clumsy, somewhat airheaded) and... he's taken (kinda... she died... so sad, so sad...)... And he's actually really cool. He's got a luck that defies all sense of logic, and I personally believe that he's faking that vapid attitude... at least partially... I mean... look at his son... Unless *spoiler* Squall got it from Raine... (Hm... Laguna=Green... Green Raine... Squall... Heheh...)  
  
If you actually read my rants, thank you.  
  
Thank you, for reading. 


	3. Icicle Inn

Special Note: Ooops.... Heh. Sorry it took me so long, I was having a bout of writer's block... I know it's a bit on the short side, too, but next chapter will be longer, I promise!  
  
Title: Fiery Red Horizon  
  
Chapter: 2  
  
Chapter Title: Icicle Inn  
  
Author: Kage Kashu  
  
Archive: Ask. Give credit where it's due. Then... ?  
  
Genre: General. Humor/Drama/Angst/Romance/Action/Adventure  
  
Story Summary: Sequel to Mako Blue Horizon. With Cloud's death weighing heavily on everyone' minds, the journey becomes tainted with a need for revenge. During the while Cloud finds out just how hard it is to deal with a madwoman.  
  
Chapter Summary: Icicle Inn... the groups looses track of Reeve... and meets up with Zack.  
  
Disclaimer: Dun own them, wish I did.  
  
Author's notes: You need to have played the game to get this part. Things get stranger. And I figure... Normal thinking is between 'these things'. Jenova is going to be between -these, 'cause I didn't feel like being more creative for her-. And Aerith is going to be between ~these~. And Sephiroth's younger self is going to be between \these\. (Yeah, that works!) I suppose I also need something for talking through electronics. So, that will be in between =these=.  
  
Warnings: Very AU. Uhm... Not much.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Junon Harbor Airfield  
  
Laguna rubbed his leg surreptitiously, watching as Gelinka flew off. He wasn't sure if he was saddened by the fact or not... but it had been there with him for such a long time...  
  
He sighed, and jumped when a hand clamped down on each shoulder. "Eep!"  
  
He glanced back to see Kiros and Ward standing behind him, each with a hand on one of his shoulders.  
  
"What?"  
  
Kiros sighed. "You do realize that that was our transportation?"  
  
Laguna rubbed his leg again. "So?"  
  
Ward shook his head disgustedly, as Kiros continued. "Now we don't have a way back..."  
  
Laguna grinned. "Oh, that. It's all cool. I can get us to Costa del Sol... I have enough to pay for the boat."  
  
Kiros rubbed his temples, "And what good is that going to do us?"  
  
"No worries, man... We're on vacation!"  
  
~*~  
  
Icicle Inn  
  
Sephiroth glanced behind him, to make sure everyone was there. Jessie, Tifa, Yuffie, Barret, Vincent, Cid... Reeve... Where were Reeve and Cait Sith?  
  
"Cid?" he asked quietly, as Cid had been the last to reach the sign. "When's the last time you saw Reeve?"  
  
Everyone started glancing back and forth at and around each other, as Cid answered, "Just outside of the caves... He was talking with that cat..." Cid rubbed the back of his head.  
  
"Anyone see him after that?"  
  
There were various headshakes. Nope, no one had.  
  
Sephiroth cursed. And they couldn't leave town now, either. Shinra Troopers were guarding the southern exit of town. "We don't have much choice then, but to continue north," he murmured. The Masamune hung heavily on his back.  
  
Cid nodded, replying, "We should probably take a brief break, first. He might catch up. Take a stay in the inn?"  
  
Everyone agreed. Sephiroth wanted to continue, but he didn't want anyone getting sick, so a rest probably was in order.  
  
~*~  
  
Icicle Inn, the Inn  
  
Zack yawned hugely. He'd sold a whole bunch of the crap he'd picked up on the way, and now he had a rather hefty amount of gil in his pocket. Enough for several nights at the inn, and then some. Not to mention, some new clothes. He felt a lot more energetic, now that he was warm, even though he still wanted to hover over the fire.  
  
A cold blast of air as someone opened the door startled him. He glanced up to see a bunch of familiar faces. Sephiroth.  
  
Zack's eyes widened with shock. "Seph?!"  
  
Sephiroth's head snapped around to stare at him. "Zack?" He shook his head. "But you're... aren't you...?"  
  
Zack scratched the back of his head. 'Nope, no claws...' "One would think so... but I kind of appreciate that I'm not. You know... last thing I caught from you was something about maniacal robots... What was that all about?"  
  
Sephiroth mimicked Zack's gesture, rubbing the back of his head. "You caught that? The cat groped me..."  
  
Zack snapped his fingers. "That reminds me..." He whipped out the riding crop that he'd nicked from Aerith.  
  
*whack*  
  
"Ow!!"  
  
*whack*  
  
"Ow!!"  
  
*whack*  
  
"Ow!! What is this for?"  
  
*whack*  
  
"Ow!!"  
  
"It was your fault!"  
  
*whack*  
  
"Ow!! What was my fault?!"  
  
*whack*  
  
"Ow!!"  
  
"She's absolutely nutters, and I think she thinks I'm gay now, too. And I don't even know where the hell she got that idea, I mean, you wouldn't know the trouble I went through this past... how long has it been, anyway?" Zack scratched his head again. He yawned. "Where're ya heading? I just came in from the glacier..."  
  
"That's where we're going."  
  
Zack twitched. "Na? Why would you be... That place is dangerous! Not to mention that my clothes kept disappearing..."  
  
Sephiroth blinked at him. "Wha?"  
  
He shook his head. "I started out with almost nothing... Made it to the base of the cliffs, got some clothes, ended up back in just a pair of pants... and boots, which I didn't have before, but damn, talk about bad luck..."  
  
"We're after Aerith."  
  
Zack stared for a moment, his eyes narrowing on Sephiroth. "Ah, that would be why, I suppose. Yeah, she's up there," he nodded. "I'm not going," he continued, slapping the crop against his leg.  
  
Seph leaned forward. "I'm not sure how much you know about this situation... but... She killed Cloud."  
  
"What?!" Zack pulled back. "The funny little blonde guy? What'd he ever do to her?" Zack nodded. "I'm going with you, then."  
  
Seph nodded in return. "I thought so."  
  
~*~  
  
Icicle Area  
  
Reeve sat down, eyes watering, and chest aching. He'd been keeping up just fine at first, but the cold got to him way too quickly. He'd found himself stopping more often, and resting longer each time.  
  
Now, his breath came hard even though he'd hardly been moving. His lungs burned, and he fought the urge to cough. He knew where they were going, so it shouldn't be to hard to catch up, right?  
  
Right?  
  
His mechanical friend, tried to make him get up, but the cat's efforts were brushed aside. Reeve didn't think he'd be able to get up again any time soon.  
  
Cait was worried. He could see that Reeve wasn't taking the cold very well, and that he should get warmed up as soon as possible. And the easiest way for that to happen, was to get to Icicle Inn... fast.  
  
He jumped when Reeve began coughing.  
  
"Reeve, you need to get up!"  
  
Reeve opened one eye to stare blearily at the cat. He shook his head tiredly. He just needed to rest up a bit. That's all. The cold wasn't bothering him as much as it had been. Something told him that that wasn't a good thing. "Cait? Can you go chew out Rufus for me? And Reno... definitely chew him out... Just don't ask what for... can't remember..." His words quickly turned incoherent, even to himself.  
  
Well, shit. That would be it. The last thing he saw was green. 'What the hell could that be?' he wondered, as he drifted off.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Wah... *sniffles* You all know the drill... read review. *sniffles*  
  
Angefantasy, ^_______^ Laguna's awesome... (Although, with the way he acts, he could drive most sane people up a wall...) Ah, yes... the feeling of impending doom...  
  
ChibiBoko, You didn't think I would leave him gone did you? (I like Cloud too much for that...) Hm... Yes, Cloud's business is worldwide... (You'll see a lot of FF8 characters in it, methinks...) Well... it wasn't a real kiss, ya know? I thought the relation business was a cute idea... heheh. Yeah, they know that it was something... but as of yet don't know what...  
  
Mako-Magic, (Aerith did it, with Seph's sword...) Yuppers. Creepy chick has Cloud. Heheh... (I love Laguna...)  
  
Danyella Skyler Silverfire, Yo! =¬.¬=  
  
Shara, Thankies... And yeah, pretty much. Explains a lot, ne?  
  
Theory Mistress, Yeah... it got pretty serious near the end, though, for a humor fic, ne? But I'm glad you liked it.  
  
Miniature Rant of the Day-  
  
On My Stomach: I am suffering from a bellyache, currently. I must have eaten something bad... Let's see... Poptarts? Nah... Mini Pizzas? Nah... Yogurt? Nah... Mocha? Nah... Must have been that bite of Fettuccini. I hate Alfredo sauce... I was just checking to see if the stuff was done... Made it for my brother... (Was in an uncharacteristically nice mood today. Made brother food, made pink lemonade when he said he was thirsty... What the heck is wrong with me...?) I blame everything on the Fettuccini Alfredo. Eww.  
  
If you actually read my rants, thank you.  
  
Thank you, for reading. 


	4. A Bit Of An Interlude

Special Note: Alright, last chapter sucked, I know... I wasn't exactly finished with it... (I'd been planning on doing a hell of a lot more with it... but that'll be this chapter... I think..) I'm not too sure if this one's that great either... =¬.¬''=  
  
Title: Fiery Red Horizon  
  
Chapter: 3  
  
Chapter Title: A Bit Of An Interlude  
  
Author: Kage Kashu  
  
Archive: Ask. Give credit where it's due. Then... ?  
  
Genre: General. Humor/Drama/Angst/Romance/Action/Adventure  
  
Story Summary: Sequel to Mako Blue Horizon. With Cloud's death weighing heavily on everyone' minds, the journey becomes tainted with a need for revenge. During the while Cloud finds out just how hard it is to deal with a madwoman.  
  
Chapter Summary: We find out more of Cloud Strife's family tree, and see Cloud, then Laguna, then back to Icicle.  
  
Disclaimer: Dun own them, wish I did.  
  
Author's notes: You need to have played the game to get this part. Things get stranger. And I figure... Normal thinking is between 'these things'. Jenova is going to be between -these, 'cause I didn't feel like being more creative for her-. And Aerith is going to be between ~these~. And Sephiroth's younger self is going to be between \these\. (Yeah, that works!) I suppose I also need something for talking through electronics. So, that will be in between =these=.  
  
Warnings: Very AU. Uhm... blood? (Just a little.) Confusion... (A little more than a little...) Contemplation... (Okay, a lot...) Zack. (Cool!!)  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Turks Office, Shinra Building, Midgar  
  
Elena stared at the PHS in her hand. She'd recently found that she had had a brother. Now, the man who had played the part of father to her long lost twin called and told her (Rather callously, she thought) that her brother was dead.  
  
Her grip tightened on the phone. She hadn't had a chance to get to know her brother as a person, even. She'd worked with him, on occasion, as a Turk... and her coworker, Reno, was good friends with him... but she'd never taken the time to actually get to know him.  
  
A soft cracking noise caught her attention, as the PHS snapped into pieces, in her hand. She supposed that she should tell Reno. Reno had known Cloud better.  
  
She scowled at her hand, which was now bleeding all over her nice, neat desk. Damnit.  
  
Elena wrapped her hand. She paused in the doorway, "Rude? I'm going to the clinic. I'll be back in a few."  
  
Rude blinked. What was up with her these days, anyway?  
  
~*~  
  
Unknown  
  
Swirling, glowing green. Bright contrast to the deeper emerald... He -had- to get out of here... Every minute he was reminded of the glowing green shock... And he felt that he was loosing himself in that glow. Anything to get away from -her-.  
  
It had been bothering him for a while, now... There were so many others here... but they were faded into the green. He felt that he was fading too... Much too quickly. He couldn't stay here.  
  
She wouldn't leave him alone... No matter how hard one tried, in the Lifestream, there was nowhere to hide.  
  
Not to mention, if he stayed much longer, he'd become like the other residents... Faded, part of the green.  
  
Some of them screamed, some tittered happily... No matter, they were all the same. He didn't want to become that. And he already was. Each time, when he looked at himself, it was harder to tell if he was really there. That just meant that he had to find a way out.  
  
There was a place, in the Lifestream, where a shock of blue escaped into the green glow. The answer, his escape, must be there.  
  
~*~  
  
Boat to Costa del Sol  
  
Kiros turned a whole new shade of green as the boat lurched. He lurched with it, over to the railing. He really didn't want to get sick... Laguna would have something to pick on him about, and he really wasn't ready for that kind of thing. Ward's silent laughter was bad enough.  
  
Then there was Laguna... who hadn't noticed Kiros' condition. For which Kiros could only be thankful for. Not that Laguna would be too mean... But Kiros preferred to be one up on those kinds of things.  
  
Currently, Laguna appeared to be -dancing?- to the rather raucous music playing nearby. Personally, Kiros found the music, if indeed it could be called music, a bit too harsh for his tastes... But, apparently, Laguna thought it was the greatest. (The mere thought of trying to bounce around like Laguna was currently doing made Kiros' stomach turn even more...)  
  
And Ward just stood back, quietly amused by the whole deal. Ward had been a fairly quiet man even before he lost his voice... (And in such a terrible manner...) Now, Kiros could rarely tell what the man was thinking... what he was feeling, sure, but thinking? Although, he would swear that Laguna had a psychic connection with the man, because from the way he talked with him, you would swear that Ward was answering, until you were close enough to know that he wasn't speaking at all.  
  
One of those many things that creeped him out about his companions. That one had to be right alongside Laguna's never ceasing energy. Honestly, the man couldn't sit still. Yet, Kiros knew, if some pretty chick came by and talked to him, he'd freeze in place, with a cramp in his leg.  
  
Unfortunately, that wasn't going to happen anytime soon, so Kiros was going to have to watch Laguna spin around, Ward laugh, and he himself would just sit by the boat's railing, sick as a dog, until they reached Costa del Sol. Really, the airship had been bad enough...  
  
~*~  
  
Icicle Inn  
  
Zack leaned forward, towards Tifa. "So, he's been all, you know, 'revenge, revenge' since?"  
  
She nodded. "And we lost Reeve. We're not even sure where, except that it was between here and the caves."  
  
Zack shrugged. "You know, I know who most of you are... but those two," he nodded at a tall man in red and black, and a slightly shorter, rougher looking blonde man, "I don't know."  
  
"Vincent and Cid. Vincent's really quiet, even more so, lately... and Cid... well, he usually isn't." She shook her head. "Actually, he's usually really loud." She frowned thoughtfully. "I picked up how you know Sephiroth... I think... but how do you know the rest of us?"  
  
He scratched his head. "Well, it's hard to explain. But I thought I was dead... maybe I was? And kind of hung out in the back of Sephy's head, as it were. It was kind of funny at times... but I couldn't really do anything... And then I was up there," he pointed out the window, at the far end of the glacier. "Been heading in this direction since right before you guys stopped in my hometown."  
  
"Gongaga?"  
  
He nodded. "You know, if we looked around, we could probably find Aerith's old house. She used to live here."  
  
"Really?" Tifa sat up. "Do you know...?"  
  
He shook his head. "All I know, is that it's probably Shinra property. You want to find it? Seph might want to see it too..." He nodded to himself. "I gotta talk ta Seph anyway," he said ruefully, staring at his hands, glad to see that the claws hadn't come back.  
  
They had a few hours before they planned on leaving. That would be enough time for a talk, and perhaps enough time to search Aerith's house, if they could find it.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
You all know the drill... read review.  
  
Danyella Skyler Silverfire, ;p I have a stomachache, and an earache. Of course, I'm sick. Although, I suppose I could just be reacting to being awake at such a strange time... (morning)  
  
Angefantasy, Nah, he's just a bit distracted. (Being physical and all...) He has things to pay attention to other than his mind... Although, the Mako probably is affecting him... just not in that particular manner. Poor Reeve... poor Cloud... Aerith? Who feels sorry for her? =¬.¬'= Meh, it took me longer than I had planned, which means that it was more of a self- complaint than anything else... =^_____^'=  
  
Chibiboko, Funny thought, but nope, not a Mako pool... (Especially funny about everyone needing to pitch in and do his part, ya? Heheh.) Never tried the bit with the parmesan... I swear, that's where I got the bellyache (Even though it was only one bite!). None of that other stuff (Well, it could have been the mini pizzas... or the yogurt... more likely the yogurt...) could do that to me!  
  
Miniature Rant of the Day-  
  
On Kiros: He always struck me as an intellectual. An intellectual with a really bad sense of humor. Not to mention, he and Ward were actually kind of mean to Laguna... (one would have to have a bit of humor to deal with the man...) People usually portray him as the man who knows what's going on, more so than anyone else... but in the game, he seems just as confused as the others, just better articulated. (Laguna's really bad about that... =¬___¬'=)  
  
If you actually read my rants, thank you.  
  
Thank you, for reading. 


	5. Great Glacier

Special Note: Okies, then... This one... gets a little strange... I guess.  
  
Title: Fiery Red Horizon  
  
Chapter: 4  
  
Chapter Title: Great Glacier  
  
Author: Kage Kashu  
  
Archive: Ask. Give credit where it's due. Then... ?  
  
Genre: General. Humor/Drama/Angst/Romance/Action/Adventure  
  
Story Summary: Sequel to Mako Blue Horizon. With Cloud's death weighing heavily on everyone' minds, the journey becomes tainted with a need for revenge. During the while Cloud finds out just how hard it is to deal with a madwoman.  
  
Chapter Summary: Cloud investigates the "blue", and the gang snowboards to the bottom of the mountain. Rufus finds out about some of his relatives.  
  
Disclaimer: Dun own them, wish I did.  
  
Author's notes: I figure... Normal thinking is between 'these things'. Jenova is going to be between -these, 'cause I didn't feel like being more creative for her-. And Aerith is going to be between ~these~. And Sephiroth's younger self is going to be between \these\. (Yeah, that works!) I suppose I also need something for talking through electronics. So, that will be in between =these=. When Laguna is "interpreting" what Ward is "saying", it'll be like his normal thoughts.  
  
Warnings: Very AU. Weirdness? Cid. And Cloud's relationships are bit out of hand...  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Lifestream?  
  
Cloud turned. The blue... was a lot different from the green. Almost painfully so. All of the others, that made up the green, stayed away from it. Somehow, though, he knew that Aerith would follow him. So, he headed for the brightest part of the blue, where it escaped into the green void that now lay behind him.  
  
The blue grew brighter, until it wasn't even blue anymore. It became white. And then...  
  
He was drowning.  
  
~*~  
  
Great Glacier  
  
After some strange movies that Cid really couldn't get himself interested in... he really hated documentaries... they headed down the mountain.  
  
Snowboarding... was fun. Although, Cid figured himself a little too old for that. He spit out a mouthful of snow and rocks... at least, he thought they were rocks. Maybe pinecones?  
  
He snickered at Vincent, who looked like he managed to get snow -everywhere- ... including down his shorts, although Cid really wondered just how he managed that.  
  
Everyone else seemed to have it just as bad. Tifa was accepting Zack's kindly proffered coat... good thing, too, considering her clothes... Jessie was busy trying to get the snow out of her "gears", while Barret shook his gunarm furiously, trying to un-jam it. Yuffie... well, it looked like she -did- get snow in her shorts. Cid felt like he should offer her -his- coat, considering that she really wasn't dressed for this weather. Red's tail was all flared up, and swinging about him, melting the snow.  
  
Cid himself had just gotten a little powder down his shirt... it was the position he landed in that made him feel his age. Although, Vincent's blush had been rather amusing, once the man had noticed that he was sitting on Cid. Cid had been tempted to grope the man, just to see if his blush would get any brighter.  
  
Once everyone sorted themselves out, and Cid let Yuffie borrow his coat, Sephiroth took charge again.  
  
It was a case of "pick up anything you find, and keep heading North if you get separated from everyone else". Needless to say, separation from the group wasn't exactly a good thing.  
  
Although, Cid and Vincent, not twenty minutes later, managed to lose track of everyone else. "Well, shit" was all Cid really had to say on the subject.  
  
"And head North," grumbled Vincent. "Can you tell which way is North?"  
  
Cid scowled, feeling mildly affronted. "Of course I can tell which way is North. Before I became a pilot..." He was interrupted by a tree branch to the face. He sat down. "Ouch!"  
  
A soft laugh startled him, and he scowled at Vincent.  
  
"That isn't funny." He pulled his hand from his face. "Damnit! My nose is bleeding."  
  
Vincent's laughter grew slightly, and Cid threw a handful of snow at him.  
  
"Take that!!"  
  
~*~  
  
Turks Office, Shinra Building, Midgar  
  
Reno scowled at Tseng's mess, encroaching upon his nice neat desk. He had been a bit surprised about Elena and Cloud being related and all... and reasonably upset at Cloud's death... but currently, there was one thing bothering him. Okay, two things.  
  
Tseng's mess was getting too close to his space... And Elena's desk was bloody. Rude's desk was fine, not that that mattered, but the other two needed work.  
  
So it was, when Rufus came in, the office... sparkled, for lack of a better term.  
  
"Wow. Are you guys moving offices?" Rufus asked, glancing around the way- too-clean room. Finally, he spotted Reno underneath Tseng's desk. At least... he thought that was Tseng's desk. A soft droning noise came from where Reno hid. "Reno?"  
  
Reno glanced around the base of the desk. "Hi, Rufus. I got some bad news."  
  
Rufus blinked. "Really. What kind of bad news?"  
  
"Well, I did a little digging, and found out you have some siblings floating around..."  
  
"Really?" Rufus asked cheerfully. It would be nice to have a sibling, he rather thought.  
  
"You remember Strife Inc? The guys who kept saying that you owed money? The blonde guy, Cloud Strife is your little brother." Reno sat in Tseng's chair. "Then I find, that Cloud had a twin sister, right? Well, she was just informed that... well, you know the chick that beat the living shit out of Tseng? She killed him."  
  
Rufus blinked. Now that, was a bummer. He finds out that he had sibs, and then that one of them died very recently. "And the sister?"  
  
Reno grinned sourly. "You wouldn't believe it."  
  
"Try me."  
  
"Elena."  
  
Rufus blinked. No... although... now that he thought about it... it certainly made sense. "Dad's?"  
  
Reno nodded. "You remember your Uncle? The one that supposedly died years ago? He's alive... You remember the guy who was always trying to get you to reopen the space program so that he could pilot the rocket? That's him."  
  
Rufus blinked again.  
  
Reno continued, "And your sibs... Apparently, they have an aunt... on the mother's side, so she's not related to you... thank Bahamut... that works here."  
  
Rufus raised an eyebrow. "Really?"  
  
"Scarlet."  
  
Rufus fainted.  
  
"And that's what I get," Reno told the room in general, "for being the bearer of any news."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
You all know the drill... read review.  
  
Angefantasy, Believe you me, it's worse even than that. Knowledge of Cloud's relations are expanding. lol Cloud shall... you'll see. (Haha!! I flaunt my authorly knowledge! Ehem. Yah. Anyway.) I pity Kiros for last chapter, though... he got seasick like Yuffie. Poor dude. (In the game, I noticed that Kiros was always ''translating'' Ward... I think he didn't know any better than anyone else what Ward was thinking... And I also think that Ward was probably the smartest of them...)  
  
Hikari, Nope... Gast is still Aerith's father. Most of the info in the game is right, except things that I specifically changed... Such as Cloud being related to Rufus, Cid, and Elena (later more)... One of the things that changed was that Aerith, instead of escaping Shinra as a child... didn't. Not really. It'll all eventually be explained....  
  
ChibiBoko, Rufus' half sister, Cloud's twin. *nod nod* And, no, the (Former) President Shinra did not know how to keep his pants on. =^.^= No, Rude shall certainly be left out of that loop... Although... there go your theories about the blondes. *wink wink* *nudge nudge* That blue light is plot significant... I think. I don't know. I'll have to think on that... And Reeve... don't worry, he's alive... although, you may not see much of him for a while...  
  
Miniature Rant of the Day-  
  
On Redheads in FFVII: You know that redhead at the Honeybee? The guy in the suit? You see him in other places too, although that's just the first place you see him. He's nameless, as far as I've seen, although, I have my theories on him... I think that it's Reno. You know, in disguise... The guy has almost the exact same hair as Reno... He's just better dressed. So, you know, doing spy work at the honeybee... although, I think that he was there because the President was there.... which means... if you go back there, with Cloud all dressed up, he hits on Cloud. Heehee... Okay, this was a weird one, I admit, but think about it, and tell me what you think, ne?  
  
If you actually read my rants, thank you.  
  
Thank you, for reading. 


	6. He's Baaack!

Special Note: Doesn't the second disc end at the Midgar Parachute Drop? ??? Anyone know exactly where that happens, do please tell me!  
  
Title: Fiery Red Horizon  
  
Chapter: 5  
  
Chapter Title: He's Baaack!  
  
Author: Kage Kashu  
  
Archive: Ask. Give credit where it's due. Then... ?  
  
Genre: General. Humor/Drama/Angst/Romance/Action/Adventure  
  
Story Summary: Sequel to Mako Blue Horizon. With Cloud's death weighing heavily on everyone' minds, the journey becomes tainted with a need for revenge. During the while Cloud finds out just how hard it is to deal with a madwoman.  
  
Chapter Summary: A bit o'Cloud, a private moment between Cid and Vincent... Zack gets teased... A tiny snippet of Reeve... and Tseng's pocky melts.  
  
Disclaimer: Dun own them, wish I did.  
  
Author's notes: I figure... Normal thinking is between 'these things'. Jenova is going to be between -these, 'cause I didn't feel like being more creative for her-. And Aerith is going to be between ~these~. And Sephiroth's younger self is going to be between \these\. (Yeah, that works!) I suppose I also need something for talking through electronics. So, that will be in between =these=. When Laguna is "interpreting" what Ward is "saying", it'll be like his normal thoughts.  
  
Warnings: Very AU. Uhm... Vincent and Cid... "getting to know each other"?  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Unknown  
  
'Air! Air! Need air... so cold no air... gonna drown... dun wanna go back there...'  
  
Cloud's teeth clenched. He tried to hold his breath, but found that he had none to start with.  
  
'Up, there's always air up. Going up!'  
  
With a frantic kick, he pushed himself upward, toward the pale light shining down. With a mighty gasp, he broke surface, his hair clinging tenaciously to his face... and it was COLD.  
  
'Where am I?'  
  
He glanced about, huffing heavily. He was...  
  
Right back where he started. The shell city.  
  
"No way," he groaned. And then he realized... if he was back in the shell city... this was his real body... which meant...  
  
He ran his hands frantically over himself, for assurance that he was indeed whole. Or lacking holes, rather. There was no sign that a huge sword had been rammed through his chest... except... once he looked... a relatively small scar. Just a new mark, added on a list of oh-so-many old ones.  
  
He swam as best he could to the edge of the pond. This place was very cold.  
  
His hand slipped around his neck, finding, to his surprise, that the chain was still there. He pulled it from his shirt and grinned when he saw the small crystal still attached to it.  
  
Now, then... Time to find the others.  
  
His grin widened as he found that he still had his sword. It would be best, or so he figured, to just go. Because, staying still, he just might grow ill... and that just wouldn't be good.  
  
He let out a piercing whistle, and was mildly surprised at the answering howl. So, Nibie had waited for him, eh? That made things a lot easier.  
  
~*~  
  
Great Glacier  
  
"Enough! Enough! Uncle!"  
  
"You mean it? Won't try an retaliate, like last time?" Cid asked anxiously.  
  
Vincent scowled, from his place pinned to the ground... with Cid shoving handfuls of snow into his shirt. "I mean it! Let go!" He tried kicking the blonde man off, to no avail... Apparently Cid had decided that he wasn't finished.  
  
"I don't think I believe you..." Cid tightened his legs around Vincent's waist. He grinned when he saw that Vincent was blushing again. He leaned forward, "Vinny's embarrassed, ain't that cute..."  
  
Vincent's eyes widened in outrage, and Cid barely had the time to let out a startled squawk before Vincent flipped them over and began shoving snow into -his- pants.  
  
"Cold!! That's cold!! Not the... Cold!!" Cid struggled wildly, arms and legs flailing about, without much semblance of control.  
  
Vincent's mocking tones came from overhead, "Aww, Ciddy-poo's cold... What does he want Vinny to do about it?"  
  
With an outraged squawk, the tables were turned again. "Vinny's gonna get it bad, jes fer that!" And Cid promptly made due on the promise, shoving sever handfuls past Vincent's belt, in quick succession.  
  
"Alright! Alright! I give! I give!!"  
  
Cid sat up again, panting. "Vinny..." *huff huff* "...give in?"  
  
Vincent nodded sourly.  
  
"Yer jes a sore looser..." Cid shivered. "We better catch up, before we catch cold..." He shivered, getting up.  
  
"Who's fault is it that we have snow in our drawers?"  
  
"Yours," Cid answered promptly... and got smacked. "Damnit, I'm gonna start thinkin' you were a girl in a past life if you keep that up!"  
  
Vincent smacked him again.  
  
~*~  
  
Zack chewed on a claw, somewhat thoughtfully. Cid and Vincent had just caught up, and it looked like they spent their entire break in a snow fight... With Cid, that seemed probable, but Vincent? No way.  
  
He was glad that he didn't have to hide his hands, now. Seph hadn't even seemed surprised. Although, when he had explained why he wasn't surprised, Zack understood the sentiment perfectly.  
  
In effect, Sephiroth believed that Hojo had taken him in, and that he hadn't been completely gone. Which would explain why he was still in the land of the living... and why he still had his dog tags, among other things...  
  
So, the reason he seemed to be changing into something else? Just look what the man did to Vincent Valentine. -He- seemed to change into a demon occasionally.  
  
So, that left one question: What was Zack turning into?  
  
Scales, claws... He ran a hand through his hair and was shocked to come across a bump. What the...  
  
Maybe from when he hit his head, a couple of days ago? He fingered the lump for a moment, noting that it didn't hurt or anything... He squeaked when he realized that the lump didn't even feel fleshy.  
  
Scales, claws, horns... What next? Wings?  
  
"Seph?" he whined. "What has scales, claws and horns?"  
  
Sephiroth glanced back at him sourly, before replying, "Lizard?"  
  
Yuffie cheerfully broke in, "Vlakorados?"  
  
Jessie added in, "Every kind of dragon that I've seen..."  
  
Tifa continued, "Those demon things we found around Nibel?"  
  
"Some birds," was Cid's contribution.  
  
"Bugs," said Nanaki.  
  
"Sonic Speed," added Vincent.  
  
"Yeah, anybody forgetting anything?" Zack asked sourly.  
  
Sephiroth scratched the back of his head, "Spencer?"  
  
"Dinosaurs," added Vincent, again.  
  
"Some fish," Yuffie contributed.  
  
"Enough, enough..." Zack grumbled.  
  
"Why ask?" asked Seph.  
  
"Cause I think I'm growing them..." he said sadly.  
  
Everyone went silent... then continued hurriedly, as if nothing had happened. When a wolf's howl broke through the silence, they continued faster.  
  
~*~  
  
Unknown  
  
"C'mon, buddy, ya gotta make it..." Cait Sith's voice seemed to come from far away. "Can't you do anything?"  
  
A soft grumble answered him.  
  
"I don't know, but I'm worried... C'mon Reeve... Wake up!"  
  
Reeve sighed, wherever he was, it was pleasantly warm. A slight smile, and he drifted farther away.  
  
"Wake up..." Cait Sith's voice faded into the pleasant white noise surrounding him.  
  
~*~  
  
Junon Airfield  
  
Tseng munched on a handful of pocky, completely ignoring the odd looks he was getting from the Regulars. Coffee was one of the best things a Turk could know, he decided, taking a sip off of his. Coffee, and booze, as Rude would say. He had to agree on that particular as well, and the booze was often higher on the list of good things in life... higher occasionally, even than coffee.  
  
But with coffee, you could stir it with pocky. Although, the coating on the pocky has this tendency to melt off, and the stick became rather soggy, after a while...  
  
He sighed, staring at his last piece of pocky. It was so soggy, that its own weight was about to rip it in half... and then it would sink to the bottom of his coffee... and that would -not- be good.  
  
But if it broke while he was trying to eat it... it might fall on his uniform. Oh, the dilemma!  
  
Rufus' voice cracked across from the other end of the Airship Highwind. He jumped, and the pocky broke off, plunking into his coffee. Damnit. He sighed, staring into his coffee as Rufus' voice sounded out again, closer.  
  
"Tseng! What are you doing over there?"  
  
He glanced up to see... Scarlet walking over to him, swinging her hips seductively. It wasn't working... whatever she was trying to do. "I was drinking my coffee." 'Leave me in peace,' he added silently.  
  
"We should be boarding the airship, now." She grinned. "Unless, of course, you want to help me delay everything?" She batted her eyelashes at him.  
  
He sighed into his coffee, sadly. "It's gone," he murmured aloud.  
  
"What's gone?" she asked, curiously.  
  
"My pocky."  
  
She cast him a confused look as he turned about, heading for the ladder up.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
You all know the drill... read review.  
  
Shara, And now everybody knows... =^.^'= (I think I may have had another one floating around... but not, I think, in the Strife family...)  
  
Angefantasy, =@.@= Not Mideel!! *maniacal laughter ensues* (I actually figured that this makes a lot of sense... at least... to me.) Reeve is going to be MIA for a little while... Although I hope that satisfied your curiosity... Poor Vince... (Cid'll make ya feel better...)  
  
ChibiBoko, =O.O= Uhm... (I don't really have an answer to that... Interesting idea though...) Vincent wasn't actually a guide... He's the guy who makes sure that the guide, and the party thereof stay safe... Within viewing distance at all times... =^.-= Heehee... In response to the QotD, HIMITSU!!! But really, you'll see (or is that "saw"?), and stare in awe at my genius...!! (Feeling a bit narcissistic today...) And Rufus... That's the fun of such complications...  
  
Danyella Skyler Silverfire, PIE!!! (I thought the bit with Reno was kinda cute... and Rufus' reaction... made sense at the time...)  
  
Miniature Rant of the Day-  
  
On Pocky!: Although, from the way everyone portrays him, I really can't see the normal Tseng actually eating pocky, but this Tseng... really likes his food. And I like pocky. My favorite is strawberry pocky... really good with orange juice... I've had some other kinds, I really don't like the Almond Crunch Latte kind... I don't care to much for most nuts... I've also had vanilla/chocolate giant pocky... not near as good as the strawberry. Strawberry pocky kicks ass!! With orange juice! Don't forget the orange juice!!! Glyco rocks!!  
  
If you actually read my rants, thank you.  
  
Thank you, for reading. 


	7. A Little Delay

Special Note:  
  
Title: Fiery Red Horizon  
  
Chapter: 6  
  
Chapter Title: A Little Delay  
  
Author: Kage Kashu  
  
Archive: Ask. Give credit where it's due. Then... ?  
  
Genre: General. Humor/Drama/Angst/Romance/Action/Adventure  
  
Story Summary: Sequel to Mako Blue Horizon. With Cloud's death weighing heavily on everyone' minds, the journey becomes tainted with a need for revenge. During the while Cloud finds out just how hard it is to deal with a madwoman.  
  
Chapter Summary: A slightly shortish Vincent and Cid bit... Followed by a lot of Ward, Laguna and Kiros. And a teensy tiny bit of Cloud and Nibie.  
  
Disclaimer: Dun own them, wish I did.  
  
Author's notes: I figure... Normal thinking is between 'these things'. Jenova is going to be between -these, 'cause I didn't feel like being more creative for her-. And Aerith is going to be between ~these~. And Sephiroth's younger self is going to be between \these\. (Yeah, that works!) I suppose I also need something for talking through electronics. So, that will be in between =these=. When Laguna is "interpreting" what Ward is "saying", it'll be like his normal thoughts.  
  
Warnings: Very AU. Er... Cursing in the form of a sneeze. Blame the Cid- muse. A lot of Ward.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Mr. Holzoff's House  
  
"Aaaaaaaaa...aaaaaaaa...shhhhhhhhhhitttttt..!" Cid rubbed his face, as Vincent glared at him reproachfully. "Wha? I din do nuhding... aaaaaaa... shhh..."  
  
"If it weren't for you..." Vincent began indignantly, and Cid cut him off.  
  
"If id weren'd fer me, dere'd be no one 'round 'ere who'd dry da force ya da have a bidda fun now and... Aaaaa... Damnid... Aaashhhiii..." Cid's eyes watered. "'Sides, id couldn'd have been my fauld... Or else you'd have id... but not everyone elss.... aaa... aaaaaaaa... aaaaaaaaaa... shhhhhhhhhhhit."  
  
Vincent almost admitted that Cid had a point. After all, Vincent seemed to be the only one in the house, other than Mr. Holzoff himself, who didn't have a cold. Of course, he, after some internal deliberation, didn't admit this. Why? He would be admitting to Cid -who, it seemed was already insufferable enough- that he was wrong. "You do realize that your words are almost completely incoherent?"  
  
"Why dat?"  
  
"The cold is making your accent worse."  
  
"..." Cid frowned at him. "Accend? I doen have an accend."  
  
Vincent lifted an eyebrow. "Actually, you have a particularly strong accent. I would say that sometimes, it's hard to make out what you're saying."  
  
"Bud I doen have an accend..." Cid sounded really sad that Vincent would accuse him of having an accent. "You do, dough..."  
  
"I enunciate," Vincent shrugged as Zack fell from the floor above.  
  
The brunette wrinkled his nose. "Did I interrupt something?"  
  
They both shook their heads.  
  
He sat up, nodding. "That's good anyway... Seph says we're leaving tomorrow. If you're too sick to go... You'll have ta stay behind."  
  
Vincent leaned toward Zack, momentarily. "Do you have it?"  
  
"?"  
  
"The cold?"  
  
Zack shook his head cheerfully. "I almost got pneumonia last time I was out here... but that was before I fell." He shrugged. "You all better catch some sleep if you want to go tomorrow."  
  
~*~  
  
Costa del Sol  
  
Oh, the warm beaches. Oh, the delicious heat. The beautiful sparkling water, the beautifully gleaming sand. Oh, the delicious sea breeze that wafted through the port. And oh-oh-oh, the beautiful ladies. Ward grinned. For once, Laguna had chosen an excellent vacation spot.  
  
Kiros had to ruin the lovely feeling he was getting though... by breaking into his thought process, saying that he'd bet that the cars rust -really- fast.  
  
He glanced at Laguna, who nodded, replying to the glance, "Yeah, Kiros -is- such a spoilsport. I mean, c'mon. Aren't you supposed to be a ladies man, Kiros?"  
  
Ward's amused glance lifted to Kiros, who stood a good several inches taller than Laguna... but almost a foot shorter than himself.  
  
"I'm just saying, this might be a nice place to vacation... but I would -not- want to live here."  
  
Ward's gaze drifted along the things he had noticed before... Still very good... But permanently? No way. He lifted an eyebrow at Laguna, who, once again, nodded in response.  
  
"How about we check in to a hotel first, eh Ward? Then we can go..." he stared around, for a moment, before spotting a really nice looking bar, "...there." He pointed.  
  
As far as Ward was concerned, that was a great way to start and end a vacation. A visit to a top quality bar. Of course, the middle of the vacation ought to be sprinkled with other things... Hm... but what? His questioning gaze drifted back to Laguna.  
  
"Hey man, I'm not the one to ask on that matter... Costa del Sol wasn't this big, last time I was here... Although... We could try surfing? Nah... How about we'll do whatever when we get there? Just go with the flow, right, man?"  
  
Laguna, he noticed, had a distinct tendency to "go with the flow". He didn't mind, really. It got really fun, sometimes, even if it often got them into trouble... Like that time on the movie set. Who would have known that there were Ruby Dragons out there? Trouble, Ward suspected, was Laguna's middle name. But there were also times when going with the flow got really boring...  
  
And then Kiros would do something. Kiros... was a rather strange man. He seemed like he would make a great artist, not a fighter. But he was a damn good fighter as well. Ward suspected that Kiros greatly missed his chance at higher education. He could just see him wondering why he had joined the military in the first place. Not that Kiros seemed unhappy, really... it was just too obvious that the man was out of his element.  
  
He did well with the paperwork though. He snorted to himself at the thought, and Laguna glanced up at him curiously. He nodded at Kiros, and Laguna nodded agreeably.  
  
He wasn't sure why it was... but Laguna always seemed to know what he wanted to say. Of course, there were times when his interpretation was completely off, and on those rare occasions, Ward never really had any clue what the hell Laguna had thought he meant...  
  
Ah, yes. He'd almost forgotten. Hotel, then bar... (For some reason, when they were all drunk, Kiros seemed to understand Ward much better...) Although, he wondered what exactly that meant about how much their thought processes differed...  
  
~*~  
  
Icicle Area  
  
A huge wolf ran across the snow. If one looked closely at her, it was obvious that she didn't belong in this region. Her coat was brown, whereas the local wolves were grey. Not to mention that she was much bigger than any wolf of this region could ever hope to be.  
  
Although her appearance was great, that wasn't the strangest thing about her. No, indeed. The strange thing... was the boy clinging to her back. He looked chilled to the bone, but he hung on like his life depended on it... which it could. He was also heading quite obviously in the direction of Icicle Inn.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
You all know the drill... read review.  
  
Mako-Magic, Pocky is a Japanese snack food. You see it in manga all the time. Its kinda like a sweet pretzel stick with flavored yogurt or chocolate coating. Strawberry pocky rocks.  
  
Danyella Skyler Silverfire, Why am I not surprised you're gloating? (Cause she's always gloating...) Right...  
  
Minako, Aerith is what Sephiroth was in the game... being quite dead, but rebuilding her body in a little Mako thingy... And Cloud, (as you'll come to see...) knows all... I only feel sorry for Zack, 'cause he don't know what's wrong with him but that he's changing into something.  
  
rei, Glad ya like it, an' here ya go.  
  
ChibiBoko, =^.^= Elefino. Too bad Sephy-kun doesn't know yet, ne-ne? Not quite. His body was there. Hers isn't. It's just that she wouldn't necessarily avoid the blue like the green did. Meh. Vinny and Ciddy-poo were making fun of each other, really. (At least... that's what they would say, yah?) Hmm... If I do a prequel, you'll see Turk-days Vincent. I'm thinking about doing that... Oh! And Zack is turning into =this part is edited out, do to the nature of the comment=. It'll be really interesting. =^.^=  
  
Miniature Rant of the Day-  
  
On Music: I currently can't even think properly, because the lyrics of Silver and Cold are just slipping in and out of my mind... I like the song and all... but does it have to stick even when I'm trying to write? (I personally think it would be a nice background for a vampire songfic.) *Sings* I, I will paint you in silver, I will wrap you in cold... *stops singing* That's the part that makes me think "Vampire! Vampire!!" Hm... I think I had a plotbunny... (Just so long as there aren't any mutant fleas, I'm happy...)  
  
If you actually read my rants, thank you.  
  
Thank you, for reading. 


	8. A Little Catching Up

Special Note: Ehr... Happy V-day!!! (The story behind Valentine's day is tweaky. Something fun to tell the kids about, when they're asking you to get them cards.)  
  
Title: Fiery Red Horizon  
  
Chapter: 7  
  
Chapter Title: A Little Catching Up  
  
Author: Kage Kashu  
  
Archive: Ask. Give credit where it's due. Then... ?  
  
Genre: General. Humor/Drama/Angst/Romance/Action/Adventure  
  
Story Summary: Sequel to Mako Blue Horizon. With Cloud's death weighing heavily on everyone' minds, the journey becomes tainted with a need for revenge. During the while Cloud finds out just how hard it is to deal with a madwoman.  
  
Chapter Summary: The team on Gaia Cliffs... Cloud's traveling... Laguna has some problems.... and what's this? Welcome back, Reeve.  
  
Disclaimer: Dun own them, wish I did.  
  
Author's notes: I figure... Normal thinking is between 'these things'. Jenova is going to be between -these, 'cause I didn't feel like being more creative for her-. And Aerith is going to be between ~these~. And Sephiroth's younger self is going to be between \these\. (Yeah, that works!) I suppose I also need something for talking through electronics. So, that will be in between =these=. When Laguna is "interpreting" what Ward is "saying", it'll be like his normal thoughts.  
  
Warnings: Very AU. Sephy-kun being pissy. Laguna has a problem. *shrugs* I don't want to spoil that one. =^.^=  
  


* * *

  
Gaia Cliffs  
  
Sephiroth's hand clenched on the hilt of the Masamune. According to Zack, if they got lost here, it could take them days to get where they're going. Everyone was bundled up better than before, and Cid had his coat back, and quite happily.  
  
They were almost there, was the main thing that came to Sephiroth's mind. And the little men in black cloaks were getting annoying. At least it kept them from getting lost. Their trajectory made it obvious where they were supposed to go.  
  
Luckily everyone had recovered enough to continue. Or at least they claimed to be recovered. Cid still sneezed occasionally, interspersed by the odd curse. He supposed that he should have found that amusing... But there seemed to be a dark cloud around him, preventing him from thinking about much else besides getting to Aerith and killing her... He knew that that wasn't a good thing, but it wasn't like he could help it...  
  
Aerith was his focus.  
  


* * *

  
Icicle Inn  
  
Children scattered as the giant wolf leapt over the Shinra troopers guarding the exit to town. They shrieked with glee, as all it did was run to the other side of town, disappearing down the opposite slope.  
  
Rather sourly, the head of the watch pulled out a PHS, to inform the Turk of the strange occurrence. He added that he believed that he saw a blonde man on the back of that wolf, and all he heard from the other side was a soft "whump".  
  


* * *

  
Cloud's eyes squeezed shut as Nibie bounded down the slope. The snow flung back whipped across his face, burning, and stinging with the cold. Wind whipped tears streamed down his face as he called for her to move faster.  
  
Then they were flying. "Hiiiiyaa!!" he howled right before...  
  
They were imbedded in a snow bank.  
  
And that is why he started laughing.  
  


* * *

  
Costa del Sol  
  
Laguna opened his eyes blearily. "Aaahh..." His head hurt. Hangover.  
  
He sat up, with a wince. What had possessed him to drink so much... or at all, for that matter. He -knew- he couldn't handle his alcohol as well as his friends... What, by the planet, had possessed him to try matching Kiros drink for drink?  
  
What made it worse, is that he really couldn't remember anything after the fourth drink... except... He vaguely remembered kissing... or being kissed by... someone.  
  
He groaned and got off of the bed. "Bahamut, that hurts..." he mumbled, heading for the bathroom. Once inside, he promptly stuck his head in the sink, turning the water on.  
  
-Nice-. The cool water soothed a lot of the ache in his head, and the position calmed his stomach, which vehemently protested the events of the night before.  
  
'What -did- happened last night?' he wondered, pulling his head from underneath the faucet.  
  
And that was when he first got a really good look at himself. Mascara and lipstick? What the... No, he wasn't sure if he wanted to know... but he -had- to. He looked down, and his fears were realized. He was wearing a dress. A nice dress, but still a dress.  
  
He stepped back, to get a better look at himself in the mirror. He was in drag. Completely and utterly. And if he hadn't known who it was in the mirror, he would have thought that it was an actual woman. "Nah, shit..." he mumbled at his reflection.  
  
Not that he made a very attractive woman... but it was still pretty damn convincing. "Who the hell put me up to this?"  
  
Actually, "not attractive" was a bit of an understatement, he noted, vaguely amused. He knew that he was a fairly good looking man... but his features on a woman turned out as homely at best. Or maybe just plain... His face was too long, and his features too heavy. Not that it looked -bad- ... just not feminine. So he looked like manly chick.  
  
He chuckled at the thought, and winced. His headache wasn't completely gone, yet.  
  
Although... now that he thought about it... Whoever kissed him... did they think he was a girl? Or did they know he was a man?  
  
He drank some water and washed his face, before heading back to the room to find his clothes.  
  
Much to his surprise, they were nowhere to be found. Nowhere. "Oh no." And his head was perfectly clear now, too. Damnit.  
  


* * *

  
Unknown.  
  
Reeve groaned. He -ached- from his head down to his toes. But mostly his head. He blearily cracked an eye open and was greeted by the sight of a rather cheerful fire. Where was he?  
  
"Where am I?" he murmured aloud.  
  
"Ah, so you're awake!"  
  
He tried to sit up. "Who are you?" he asked the figure that he couldn't quite see.  
  
"Well, I used to be called the... I'm the... nope. Don't remember."  
  
"Where am I?" he tried.  
  
"My place."  
  
"Where is your place?"  
  
"... It's... uhm... don't remember."  
  
He turned to get a look at the man. He looked... old. And he wore a really ugly purple robe... with a matching really ugly purple hat.  
  


* * *

  
You all know the drill... read review.  
  
Angefantasy, =^____^= Yup. That's exactly what I thought... (I've always thought Cid and Vinny made a cute couple...) And Zack... It's all cool. I have big plans for that one... =^___^= Thanks fer the info, too! *grins* Now that ya mention it... Yeah, there's a bit of a hot-cold thing going, heh. Eh, poor Reeve... Cloud isn't going anywhere near him... =- .^=  
  
ChibiBoko, Yeah, I like those guys... They're just cool... And Cid's sneeze/cursing... My dad does that. (He goes, "Aaah, aaahh... shhhhhittt...") The Nibel Wolves were brown. *shrugs* The only physical trait she's got that's overly strange is her size... *nod nod* Reeve's currently... elsewhere... =^_____^= (The Reunion is going to be... interesting...)  
  
Danyella Skyler Silverfire, Yeah, it was, wasn't it?  
  
Vincent's Soul, Yo. (It's finally going weird, although the main storyline hasn't changed much yet...)  
  
ozzypoos, =^.^= In the eventuality of that particular occurrence... Seph's gonna be shocked from his gizzard. (I don't know why... but I swear, that sounded like something Cid would say...)  
  
Miniature Rant of the Day-  
  
On OOC Aerith: It really pisses me off when she's too far out of character. There's three ways that I've seen this. One, she's turned into SuperNiceNeverDoAnythingWrong!Aerith. Two, she's PsychoBitchy!Aerith. Or three, she's SuperSlutty!Aerith. My complaint on the first: Even the best of people make mistakes, and even the nicest people get angry. On two: Aerith was a really nice person. She did all of that, even knowing that she was going to die (watch ending cinema). Three: The most "slutty" thing she did in the game was try to get Cloud to go on a date with her. Please people... if you are gonna go the OOC route, make it believable, and make sure you have a reason for it.  
  
If you actually read my rants, thank you.  
  
Thank you, for reading. 


	9. The Crater

Special Note:  
  
Title: Fiery Red Horizon  
  
Chapter: 8  
  
Chapter Title: The Crater  
  
Author: Kage Kashu  
  
Archive: Ask. Give credit where it's due. Then... ?  
  
Genre: General. Humor/Drama/Angst/Romance/Action/Adventure  
  
Story Summary: Sequel to Mako Blue Horizon. With Cloud's death weighing heavily on everyone' minds, the journey becomes tainted with a need for revenge. During the while Cloud finds out just how hard it is to deal with a madwoman.  
  
Chapter Summary: Mostly Nibie. A bit of Cloud, and some more Laguna.  
  
Disclaimer: Dun own them, wish I did.  
  
Author's notes: I figure... Normal thinking is between 'these things'. Jenova is going to be between -these, 'cause I didn't feel like being more creative for her-. And Aerith is going to be between ~these~. And Sephiroth's younger self is going to be between \these\. (Yeah, that works!) I suppose I also need something for talking through electronics. So, that will be in between =these=. When Laguna is "interpreting" what Ward is "saying", it'll be like his normal thoughts.  
  
Warnings: Very AU. A wolf's POV? Laguna's crossdressing.  
  


* * *

  
Gaia Cliffs  
  
He felt kind of bad about leaving Nibie behind, but there was no way she'd make it to the top of the cliffs. At least, that's what he had thought.  
  
He was, therefore, quite surprised to find...  
  
Nibie sitting up there, waiting for him. He shook his head, mildly disturbed at the occurrence.  
  
"I'm not gonna ask fer now. 'Cause we're in a hurry, ya know?"  
  
He leapt back onto her back, and they continued their race towards the others.  
  
Down the frozen rocky pathway, making haste... although, not like they had been on the slope. Here, that would be foolhardy, and dangerous.  
  


* * *

  
Costa del Sol  
  
Laguna thought back to the night before... Who was the last person he remembered talking to...? Kiros, of course. So, he had to find Kiros. Who happened to not be in the building. Shit.  
  
He was -not- going outside like this. Easy enough. Stick head out window, and hope Kiros is nearby.  
  
Which he promptly did. Luckily enough, the dark man was not too far from the window, either. He sat down, to where only his head could be seen from the outside.  
  
"Kiros..." he hissed, hoping to get the man's attention. "Kiros," he said a little louder when the man looked up at him. "Could you come over here?"  
  
When Kiros complied, he reached out and grabbed him, pulling him closer to the window. "What happened last night?"  
  
Kiros blinked at him, "I take it that you don't remember?"  
  
He shook his head.  
  
"Are you still wearing that dress?"  
  
He nodded.  
  
Kiros chuckled. "Well, what's the last thing you remember?"  
  
Laguna sunk back down against the wall, until his face was mostly hidden behind the window ledge. "Uhm... I was drinking shots, against you. I'd gotten about four, and then everything's mostly blank."  
  
"Mostly?" Kiros sounded amused.  
  
He nodded. "I think someone kissed me... and I'm kinda wondering who it was... and if they knew I'm a guy..."  
  
Kiros chuckled again. "You were having fun, that's for sure..."  
  
"What did I do? And who convinced me to try crossdressing?"  
  
"Well, a lot of the men in the club thought you were the hottest thing there... and I'm not sure where you got the idea to try dressing up, but you took off with this woman who said something about 'making you pretty'... It must have been her." Kiros grinned at him.  
  
"... How many of those guys knew I was a guy?" he asked, feeling somewhat mortified.  
  
"I'm not sure... Either they were all gay, or they thought you were a chick." Kiros paused a moment. "That one guy from the bar wasn't interested though... so I do believe it was the latter."  
  
"All of them? Uhm... You do realize that I don't even make a good looking woman, right? I mean, as a guy, sure, I'll admit I look fairly good... but as a woman?"  
  
Kiros nodded, grin firmly in place. "That would be saying, if they thought you were a girl, they liked you because of your outstanding personality... Although, personally, I think you looked just fine..."  
  
"Bahamut strike me now..." Laguna smacked his head against the window ledge. He peeked back up at Kiros. "You think I look good as a chick? You're weird." He paused and then, "So you don't know who kissed me?"  
  
Kiros shrugged. "It could have been anyone there. Why?"  
  
"Uhm... well..." Laguna sat up straight and grinned. "It was kind of nice, I think... I can't remember quite clearly, but it was quite nice."  
  
Kiros started to fall over, but caught himself and stared at Laguna incredulously.  
  
Laguna propped his chin on his arms, leaning against the window frame, waiting for Kiros' answer.  
  
Kiros shook his head. "Laguna, I could barely keep track of you as well as I did. You disappeared several times."  
  
Laguna sighed, disappointed. He still wanted to know if the person had known... Oh well.  
  
A voice from a short distance away spoke rather loudly, "Hey! It the chick from last night!"  
  
Laguna ducked down as Kiros began laughing.  
  
"Hey..." the guy's voice came from right in front of the window. "Why's she hiding?"  
  
Kiros' answer was far more cheerful than was characteristic of him. "Laguna's a bit embarrassed about last night. Doesn't remember a thing, you know."  
  
"Shut up," Laguna whined.  
  
The man's voice was sympathetic, "You don't remember anything? Too bad. You're a great dancer, though..."  
  
He groaned and smacked his head against the window frame. "I think I'm gonna go drown myself in the sink, now... Goodbye Kiros; goodbye Ward, if you're there... May we meet again, in another life..." He inched back away from the window.  
  
The guy's face popped into the window, and Laguna jumped back. "Wow, you look a lot better without the makeup..."  
  
He could hear Kiros start laughing again. "Damnit, Kiros! This isn't funny!"  
  


* * *

  
North Crater  
  
Nibie leapt through a wind barrier with a howl. She skidded across the icy path, continuing down the path with a limber ease that only a wild animal can accomplish. The boy on her back caused her little to no trouble, and at times, he helped her. This place was strange, and she didn't like it. But with Cloud here...  
  
She could take on anything. Even these strange places where the wind was visible, with streaks of green and lightning dashing through it. She could handle it, she decided, leaping across another rip in the scenery.  
  
"Hiiiyaaa!" called out Cloud, from her back. She grinned and howled with him.  
  
With another great bound, she leapt over those others. The people they had been with. She felt Cloud shift on her back, and he called out to them. "Hurry," a word he usually used speaking to her.  
  
She barely caught vision of their shocked faces, before she passed them, further into the crater. Further... she could smell... strange things ahead. But one thing was clear.  
  
Trouble. She slowed to a rough amble, and Cloud slipped from her back. She whined.  
  
Cloud... reeked of upset. He was annoyed, angry, hurting. The feelings she sensed from him...  
  
They had gotten there too late.  
  


* * *

  
You all know the drill... read review.  
  
Danyella Skyler Silverfire, Ah, so you liked Cloud's strangely crashing into a snowdrift on the way down the mountain and laughing about it? And... the Laguna thing... It was gonna be a side story, but I figured I might as well stick it in here...  
  
ChibiBoko, Ah yes... the Chocobo Sage. Gotta love that guy, even if he's scatterbrained as hell. =^.^= Not Reno... Teheehee hee... Sorry about the lack of Seph, but it'll get back to him after a while... I haven't decided who Laguna kissed/got kissed by... =^.^= Who do you want it to be? And you gotta remember, its his view of himself, so, in other words, he doesn't consider himself "pretty". "Fairly good looking" yes, but not feminine... (Personally I think he's pretty too... although Squall is a lot more feminine...) *shrugs*  
  
Miniature Rant of the Day-  
  
On the Chocobo Sage: God, this man can be annoying. Funny yes, but annoying more. I really don't have much to say on this, except complain about going back and forth trying to get all of the damned info from him. =v.v= I hate him, I really do... but only because he has a sieve for a brain!  
  
If you actually read my rants, thank you.  
  
Thank you, for reading. 


	10. Heading Back To Junon

Special Note: This chapter kinda sucks. Sorry all ya all. I couldn't really think of anything to make it better, though... =v.v'=  
  
Title: Fiery Red Horizon  
  
Chapter: 9  
  
Chapter Title: Heading Back To Junon  
  
Author: Kage Kashu  
  
Archive: Ask. Give credit where it's due. Then... ?  
  
Genre: General. Humor/Drama/Angst/Romance/Action/Adventure  
  
Story Summary: Sequel to Mako Blue Horizon. With Cloud's death weighing heavily on everyone' minds, the journey becomes tainted with a need for revenge. During the while Cloud finds out just how hard it is to deal with a madwoman.  
  
Chapter Summary: Hahahaha!!! Little to no explanation for last time!!! Hahahaha!!! But really... Seph has a tiny appearance, there's a Rufus snippet, and a little more Laguna... And Reno and Elena.  
  
Disclaimer: Dun own them, wish I did.  
  
Author's notes: I figure... Normal thinking is between 'these things'. Jenova is going to be between -these, 'cause I didn't feel like being more creative for her-. And Aerith is going to be between ~these~. And Sephiroth's younger self is going to be between \these\. (Yeah, that works!) I suppose I also need something for talking through electronics. So, that will be in between =these=. When Laguna is "interpreting" what Ward is "saying", it'll be like his normal thoughts.  
  
Warnings: Very AU. Ehr... a weird look into Reeve and Laguna's pasts. Accusations of drug abuse. I think that's all.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Unknown  
  
Sephiroth felt like he was falling, floating down into warm green nothingness. Quite pleasant, but for two things.  
  
Voices, harsh and accusing, and the scream of the dying planet. But there was warmth enclosing him, and everything died down to a murmur... until he was suddenly pushed away, into the harsh cold...  
  
~*~  
  
Airship Highwind  
  
Rufus leaned back, away from the shorter blonde in front of him who seemed to really enjoy yelling right into his face. "It couldn't be helped," was all he had in his defense. "From where I stood, it seemed that he may as well have been a puppet."  
  
"You should have been able to do something!"  
  
"The only one of -us- that had any clue of what was going on was Hojo. Do you really wish that -he- would have done something?"  
  
The spiky-haired blonde stepped back, and Rufus got a better look into his newfound brother's eyes. Mako blue, and glaringly bright, as if the life force of the planet itself were pouring out from them. Brighter by far than the General's had been, and even brighter than those of the other SOLDIER on the Highwind.  
  
Zachary Donovan. Who was supposedly dead. The person who Hojo had backed away from as soon as the scientist had noticed him. Interesting.  
  
And of course, there was Cloud, who stood right in front of him. Who looked more hurt than angry. And somehow, that bothered Rufus. That bothered Rufus a lot. And Rufus suddenly understood Cloud's anger. It wasn't truly directed at anyone other than himself. It was because he hadn't gotten there in time.  
  
"There was nothing you could have done, either."  
  
Cloud's shoulders slumped. "You don't know that."  
  
Rufus smirked, "No, I don't. But you don't know that you could have done something, as well. That makes us even."  
  
Cloud shook his head. "Actually..." He pulled a notepad out of his pocket. "You owe me 1585."  
  
"What?" Rufus squawked.  
  
"But I can let it go... for a price."  
  
Rufus felt a mild suspicion forming in the back of his mind. "What are you asking?"  
  
"That you not hold Meteor against any of my friends... and if we find Reeve again, leave him alone."  
  
"The first, sure. But not the latter."  
  
Cloud scratched the back of his head. "Why not?"  
  
Rufus shook his head. "I still need to talk to him. How about that? Just an hour or so to talk to him."  
  
Cloud nodded.  
  
"You don't seem so upset anymore. Why's that?"  
  
His little brother's eyes took on a distant look. "She said she'd see him to safety."  
  
~*~  
  
Outside of Costa del Sol  
  
"I don't get it, Laguna," Kiros said, feeling vaguely annoyed at Laguna, who didn't seem as talkative as usual.  
  
"..." Ward glanced back and forth between them, not sure himself. Ward had been surprised, seeing Laguna in a dress and all... but the man was so drunk that he wouldn't have been able to tell his head from his own feet, so Ward didn't really see the problem.  
  
Of course, neither did Kiros. "It could have happened to anybody."  
  
Laguna sighed. "Even drunk, I won't normally do something like that."  
  
"So, why are we leaving town?"  
  
"You saw the way that guy was looking at me!"  
  
Kiros fiddled with a braid. "He didn't seem too upset about you being a guy. If anything, he seemed just a little disappointed... at first anyway. Then he just shook it off."  
  
Laguna scowled at him.  
  
"At least we got your clothes back."  
  
Ward snorted, and got Laguna to scowl at him as well.  
  
"It was the dancing thing, alright? That's why it doesn't bother them."  
  
Kiros leaned over Laguna's shoulder. "How's that? Although, I was surprised to find that you knew how to dance... Especially that well." Laguna growled, and Kiros pulled back. "What now?"  
  
"Every guy in town, except the gay guy, seems to be interested in me now. Why would that be?"  
  
Kiros blinked. "Uhm... I don't see anything different. Are you saying you're a wood nymph or something?"  
  
"No..."  
  
Ward grunted.  
  
"Well... -I'm- not."  
  
Kiros paused. "Laguna?"  
  
"What?" Laguna sounded petulant.  
  
"Who's a wood nymph?"  
  
Laguna remained silent for a few minutes, as Kiros and Ward waited patiently for a reply.  
  
After getting hit in the face by a branch for the fifth time since he had last spoken, he finally decided to reply. "I thought we went over this."  
  
Ward bumped into Kiros, who had stopped, knocking him into Laguna, who had also stopped. "No, we are just going over this, Laguna. Who's a wood nymph."  
  
Laguna started walking again. "I'm not."  
  
Ward grunted again.  
  
"Technically speaking," Laguna added, "my mother."  
  
Kiros digested that for a moment. "So, you're part nymph."  
  
"No..."  
  
"If your mother's a nymph..."  
  
"She was a... of the... Jemnemzy tribe... I think."  
  
"Laguna?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"That makes her a nymph. Which makes you..."  
  
"Does not."  
  
"Does too."  
  
"Does not."  
  
Ward grunted again.  
  
"Ward's right," Laguna muttered, "this -is- childish."  
  
~*~  
  
Turks Office, Junon  
  
"It's not that bad," Reno said soothingly.  
  
"They told me he was dead! And then one of the Troopers station at Icicle told me that he saw him!!"  
  
Reno shrugged. "Elena? You really gotta calm down. Take it out on Cloud. You're sure to see him, sometime."  
  
"And the big red eyeball in the sky?"  
  
"Probably Aerith's fault."  
  
"Why are you so laid back today!?" She leaned toward him, hair falling into her face, mostly. "You're high, aren't you? Just like Rude!"  
  
Reno shook his head. "Rude isn't high. Neither am I. Just so you know, the guy just thinks too much, right Rude?"  
  
Rude raised an eyebrow at them. "I'm not getting into this one... Except to say one thing."  
  
"What's that?" they asked simultaneously.  
  
"I'm not high. And I was kinda pissed when Rufus accused me of it the other day."  
  
Reno frowned. "When was this?"  
  
Rude shrugged. "All I caught was something about cameras and hazard pay."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
You all know the drill... read review.  
  
Angefantasy, Yeah, Laguna made a great chick, he just didn't think so of himself. =^.^= Oh, you wouldn't have to write that down, ya know. At the chocobo farm, if you talk to the girl in the stables, she takes notes on what you tell her. You can check back later by talking to her and choosing the option that says something like "let me jot this down". All I know is he is one old dude. And Nibie... has her secrets. =^.~= Methinks... it was too late for that too. (So sad, so sad... *shakes head*) =^___^= And another chappy, by Wonderful Me. (Feeling mildly narcissistic.)  
  
Danyella Skyler Silverfire, =O.O= And who would that be?  
  
ChibiBoko, Ah, the real kisser... hi-mi-tsu. =^.~= Very insightful though. If it was Kiros, he won't admit too easily... but it quite literally could have been anyone... even Ward. lol Ah, Nibie's a main character! And I think her view did help the flow... I wanted to get that part done in the last chapter, and her POV worked really well for it. As for how she got to the top of the cliffs... that is one of Nibie's many secrets. (Aw, the Tifa in this story isn't too bad... she kinda considers him more of a brother, than in the game...) Elena. =~.^=  
  
rei, Nah... I was into complaining about that before, though... (I got a Gold now, and it is a very stupid bird. It's name is Al.) I actually just had a really hard time finding a male 'wonderful' chocobo. (I would go and catch, and catch, and they would always be female!!! Problem being that my black was female...)  
  
ozzypoos, Actually, they're still Sephiroth clones, 'cause Sephiroth is still the "best" they had ever had, and was injected with Jenova... 'cause that wasn't affected by Cloud's going to Midgar. (I do pretty good cliffies, don't I? *preens*)  
  
Elf Fanatic Lark, *feels very loved* Addicted? That is so sweet... =^.^= *chokes on maniacal laughter*  
  
Miniature Rant of the Day-  
  
On Not Much At All: Except that I feel more than just vaguely annoyed today. I want to go destroy something. And I'm not sure, but I think this chapter blows. My brother ran off with my ride... and I'm just generally in a bad mood at the moment. (Maybe it's that past life thing... as Heero Yuy... or last night's dream. Ever dream you were paralyzed?)  
  
If you actually read my rants, thank you.  
  
Thank you, for reading. 


	11. The Search Begins!

* * *

Special Note: Uhmmm... I know that this can't be anywhere near worth the wait... but I haven't exactly had proper computer access for months... technically, I still don't.... But I hope you all like what I got to put on here... Somehow I doubt this was worth the many month wait... 

Title: Fiery Red Horizon  
  
Chapter: 10  
  
Chapter Title: The Search Begins!  
  
Author: Kage Kashu  
  
Archive: Ask. Give credit where it's due. Then... ?  
  
Genre: General. Humor/Drama/Angst/Romance/Action/Adventure  
  
Story Summary: Sequel to Mako Blue Horizon. With Cloud's death weighing heavily on everyone' minds, the journey becomes tainted with a need for revenge. During the while Cloud finds out just how hard it is to deal with a madwoman.

Chapter Summary: A conference in Junon with the remainder of AVALANCHE, and Cloud has a couple of his guides searching for the missing Sephiroth. Then there's a short bit of Laguna, and a short bit of Reeve. Disclaimer: Dun own them, wish I did.  
  
Author's notes: I figure... Normal thinking is between 'these things'. Jenova is going to be between -these, 'cause I didn't feel like being more creative for her-. And Aerith is going to be between ' 'these (because FF.n is rude about the squiggles)' '. I suppose I also need something for talking through electronics. Since FF.n doesn't think I should use equal signs or squiggles, this is going to be in between ""double quotes"". When Laguna is "interpreting" what Ward is "saying", it'll be like his normal thoughts.  
  
Warnings: Very AU. But not much else. There's a tiny bit of blood I guess... and some confusion towards the end.

* * *

Junon, Military Conference Room 

Rufus frowned at the gathered members of AVALANCHE. They weren't all there, of course, but most of them were. His younger brother leaned over the conference table and the maps spread out over it, his huge "pet" wolf sitting behind him grinning. Zachary Donovan sprawled in a chair right next to Cloud, glaring across the table at one Dr. Hojo, who sat right next to Rufus. Somehow, the man's presence made his skin crawl. On Cloud's other side, resting a reassuring hand on his shoulder, was Tifa Lockheart, who looked as if she hadn't slept in the week since they had reached Junon.

Barret Wallace sat on her other side, eyes shiftily moving between Tifa, Cloud, and Rufus' men. Not that Rufus blamed him. Jessie, Hojo's daughter, if Rufus understood correctly, sat next to Wallace, glaring at her father in a fashion similar to Zack's. Yuffie Kisaragi, daughter of Lord Godo, sat on Donovan's other side. Sidney S. Highwind, Rufus' newfound uncle, sat next to Kisaragi, giving Rufus a rather appraising look that occasionally shifted to the man next to him. Vincent Valentine.

Reno had told them that Valentine was still alive, although Tseng had adamantly not believed the current Acting Head of the Turks. Reno was, as far as Rufus was concerned, doing his job rather well.

On Rufus' other side (the one across from Hojo) was Scarlet, his younger siblings' aunt. Or his aunt. She had, after all, married his uncle... But she was their mother's sister, from what he understood. Aside from that, there were a good many trooper goons there.

He could feel, almost painfully, the fact that not everyone who should be there was there. Kyle Reeve, former Head of Urban Development, Heidegger (although he had no clue just what Heidegger was doing), Palmer (still in the hospital from the truck incident), and Tseng, Reno, Elena, and Rude. All four of the Turks being there would have gone far to soothe his ruffled feathers.

Oddly enough, he also felt, with painful clarity, the absence of Sephiroth, for all that his and Cloud's men were searching constantly for the man. He hadn't a clue what Cloud had meant about "her" saying that she'd see Sephiroth to safety, however.

The silence in the room was becoming unbearable. He just hoped that one of them cracked first.

After a few more minutes of wordlessly staring at Cloud's armored right hand, he felt something moving around his feet. He frowned distractedly at the strange sensation.

A moment later, he stood quickly, with a loud yelp at the pain that had sprung into being in his right foot. He hopped backward from the table, noting everyone's intense stares, and hissed, "Hojo, I want you to get rid of that thing immediately!!" He glanced down at his own foot, the right one, and noted that it was bleeding again.

Hojo, as well as everyone else, stared at him, in Hojo's case, his foot. Hojo chewed on his pen, thoughtfully. "I didn't think it would bother to attack you in broad daylight..."

Rufus harrumphed at him. "I didn't think it would follow me to Junon."

Jessie, twiddling her thumbs on the other side of the table, asked, "It wouldn't be that blue rabbit, would it?"

Rufus nodded blankly. "We've been trying to get rid of it for years... I think I'm going to have to destroy that document," he continued, sitting back down in spite of the pain in his foot.

"What document?" asked Cloud, almost seeming amused.

"The one that named it my heir. Ever since then it's been trying to destroy my right foot. I'm afraid," he said, with a bit of humor in his tone, "that once it manages that, it'll go for bigger parts. I think it's trying to assassinate me," he finished dryly.

Barret snickered on the other side of the table, and all at once, most of AVALANCHE was laughing in some manner or other... Except for Cloud, who merely smirked at him. "Smart rabbit," Cloud murmured. "You think you could find a way to sick it on Aerith?"

Everyone stopped laughing all of a sudden, and Zack turned to him with his glowing gold eyes. "Do you think that would work?" he asked, chewing on a claw... that should have been a fingernail. Not for the first time, Rufus wondered just what Hojo had done to Zack.

Cloud shrugged. "Ya never know... But, that being beside the point... I think I figured it out."

Tifa leaned in from the side, to look over his shoulder, even as Rufus asked, "Figured what out?"

Cloud tapped a heavily leather-wrapped finger on the map. "From what I understand, the Lifestream pops out a lot in the south... So, we're lookin' oceanside, near Mideel. That's the most active Lifestream opening that I know of."

Rufus nodded. "That makes sense. Do you have any men down there? Because I don't anymore. The folks down there were a bit too boring to have much to do with... Even for Father."

Cloud snorted. "That's probably some of the richest land... But it would be pretty nasty for someone who doesn't have much experience with jungles."

"And you do?" Rufus jibed good-naturedly.

"Of course," was the lofty reply. "And I do have some men down there. They don't get commissions very often, but they deserve their pay check merely on account that they have to deal with each other. Almasy and Lionheart. Decent guys, really. Smart, too. They should understand what I want them to look for."

* * *

Mideel Town 

A shrill ringing split the normally quiet early afternoon calm. A sleepy eye opened and peered at the PHS recharging ten feet away from the hammock that the young man was lying on. He hated it when people called while he was trying to nap. He tried going back to sleep, but the shrill sound kept his consciousness uncomfortably alert. "SEIFER! Get the phone before I break it!"

There was a loud banging from the other side of the door he was hanging next to, and he glared at it.

"Hurry up!"

"Lazy ass!" Came the reply from inside. A blonde head poked out the window next to the door, and a rather long bare arm reached for the phone. "I left it out here so you would get it."

"Not while I'm trying to nap." Squall turned over in the hammock, satisfied that Seifer was going to answer the phone. He blinked when he felt the warm plastic next to his ear, and an annoying chuckle from overhead.

""Squall!?!"" the voice on the other line crackled. ""Hey, Squall!""

"What?" he grumbled, still half asleep, and with Seifer still holding the phone to his half asleep ear.

""Ah, good. For a moment I thought that the phone got dropped...""

Suddenly, it was clear to Squall who it was that was talking to him, and he sat up in a flash... With the unfortunate side effect of slamming partially into Seifer, causing them both to fall to the porch, both quite disgruntled. Somehow, the phone was still at Squall's ear, although now, it was in his hand as well. "Boss?!"

""Yeah?"" was the answer.

Squall glanced over at Seifer, who looked as shocked as he felt. "Vincent said you were dead."

""He did? Hmmm... Well, I think I was, but it's all okay now. But I figure... I need you two to go find someone for me. I suspect you'll find him along the coast... Have there been any Lifestream eruptions lately?""

"A few. Why?" Squall pointedly ignored Seifer's curious look.

""He'll most likely be near one of those. Also, call me when you find him.""

Squall rubbed his eyes one-handedly. "You seem pretty sure of this..."

""'Cause I am. You know me.""

"Right, and since you forgot to call us to tell us that you aren't dead, I can assume that you haven't really called anyone else?" Squall frowned, brushing his hair out of his face.

There was silence from the other end for a long moment. ""Righto. I'll have to go do that then, right?""

"And what does this guy look like?"

""Ever see any pictures of the General Sephiroth?""

"Oh. Go make your phone calls. I'll call if I find anything." Squall yawned, covering it up with a hand, although he knew Seifer had noticed, as the other attempted to hide his responding yawn. "Later."

""Later.""

He turned off the PHS with a frown. "We've got work," he said to Seifer, almost morosely.

"What was that all about?"

"We have work," he replied, standing up. He resolved to taunt Seifer with the information for at least a few hours before giving in and letting the other know what was going on. "Are you coming?"

* * *

South of Costa del Sol, Corel Mountains 

"Where are we going?" asked Kiros, for the fifth time. The only reason he was asking so often was because he wasn't getting an answer.

"I don't know," Laguna said at length. He wasn't sure where they were going, but he had a fairly good idea of where they were. If he was correct... There was an old reactor somewhere in these mountains. They might as well check it out before moving on. According to the road signs, there was an amusement park somewhere in this direction.

Ward snorted at him. 'Don't you always get us lost?'

Laguna almost smiled. "It's not like I can help it, Ward. But I do have a good idea of where we are. If we keep following along here, we should come to an old reactor and a railroad... I think. But this is a road, isn't it?"

"A road?" asked Kiros. "No, not a road. A path is more like it."

Laguna waved a hand in the air. "Whatever, man. Can't you see I'm trying to figure something out here?"

Both Kiros and Ward looked at him funny. He could just hear what Ward must be thinking, even as Kiros said it. "What the hell could you be trying to figure out."

Laguna scratched the back of his head. "Directions, actually. Which direction did we come from?" A sense of impending doom caught him, as comprehending dawned on the faces of his companions.

"Laaguunaa..." Kiros growled.

"Uhm... This way! We should go... This way!" was Laguna's response. He started moving really quickly, to give himself a head start, just in case Kiros and/or Ward actually wanted to kill him this time, like all the times they'd threatened before...

* * *

"Unknown" 

Reeve frowned at the old man in front of him. "So, howabout a way out of here?"

"You could always use my chocobo, but you'd have to send him back..." The old man wavered in an odd fashion. Then he bobbed. It was actually surprisingly dizzying to watch, but Reeve had seen worse. "Yes, you could do that."

"You wouldn't mind?"

"Not as long as he came back."

"Alright," Reeve said agreeably, sipping on the broth that he had been given. It was some kind of herb and vegetable broth, and it tasted quite good, although he was quite certain that some of the vegetables were the different kind of greens you fed chocobos. "You still don't know where we are?"

"Somewhere at the heart of the northern continent. Easiest way to get out is with a Mountain Chocobo," the old man nodded at the green thing behind Reeve, who reached out to pet it. "Give him some greens, and he'll love you forever."

"Do you remember which way to go to get to Icicle Inn?"

"Let's see..." the old man frowned for a moment. "It's... Nope. Don't remember."

Reeve sighed and glanced down to the floor, where the furball, Cait Sith, wisely remained silent. "Would you mind if I searched for a map when I finish this broth?"

"You have broth?"

"Yes... So do you," he said, somewhat amused. The old man seemed really happy to discover that he was sitting next to a huge pot full of hot simmering broth. "If you don't mind, I'd like to leave tomorrow."

"I suppose... Why are you here again?"

Reeve rubbed his forehead. This was getting real tiresome.

* * *

You all know the drill... read review. 

Angefantasy, Laguna... and you can't forget, that means Reeve too, is part nymph (Jemnemzy)... . And the thing with the parents... is a long story, which will be eventually explained (probably in the prequel). Actually, Seph just got dragged into the lifestream because it was too late to rescue him... Jenova had taken control of him, so he couldn't really save himself... Cloud knows what's important to him. . Rude will become more and more oblivious as time wears on... lol

Danyella Skyler Silverfire, Nice to see you... (I likee the Laguna surprise... methinks it was kinda cute, ne-ne?)

Bob the Almighty, Yeah, "Disjointed" is my middle name, actually. (Love your screen name.) I suppose I'll probably do a rewrite after I have all three of these fully written. It may take a while, but I'll get around to it...

ChibiBoko, And Reeve too. Heheh. Sephy..... Poor Sephy-kun. Heheh. As far as why Rufus wants to talk with Reeve... Reeve knows a lot of stuff that a lot of people didn't want getting out. The planet, as Cloud's hearing her with a bit of clarity now.

toolazytologin, I'm so sorry! /cries/

Shinigami Aya, I do thank you for your interest... To the point of addiction even... Wowies. Thanky muchy.

Braided Baka Girl, Hmmm... I love your hallucinations, actually. They were pretty funny to read over. As for Reno's bit o' mutation to go further... Well, Hojo didn't do quite the same thing to Reno as he did to Zack. Zack's little problem will be explained eventually... Perhaps even by Hojo himself. 'Cause Zack sure doesn't know. As for Squall and Seifer... I do plan on bringing them in... Fairly soon even. So, it's all cool.

Zack, I suppose I should have done that... But it wasn't exactly writer's block that did that.... I actually lost my internet several months ago... and am currently stealing someone else's in order to post this... ¬.¬'

Miniature Rant of the Day-

On Long-Waits-Between-Updates: You know what's funny? I hate it when other people do this to me, to... but for some odd reason, I keep doing this. I'm terribly sorry about it... It's not even that I lost interest in the story... Part of it was that I lost my internet for most of that time...! But I hope I still have a few wayward fans of my "Horizon" series out there... maybe to appreciate the chapter, or maybe just to ... I don't know... Read it at least. I'm sooo very sorry about the long wait though...

If you actually read my rants, thank you.  
  
Thank you, for reading.


	12. Lookie What I Found

Special Note: Oi... I'm sorry again about the wait... but I still don't really have proper internet access... This time I'm borrowing my friend's computer time... And she's borrowing the internet from her grandma, so... yeah. Updates may be sporadic for a while. Good pushing, and I'll update more often, I'm sure. On another note... I'm planning on rewriting Mako Blue Horizon, so... Once it's up, please read, ne? It'll be up on my profile page, but it won't be under the same exact title as the original. "Rewrite" will be part of the title, I believe.

Title: Fiery Red Horizon

Chapter: 11

Chapter Title: Lookie What I Found

Author: Kage Kashu

Archive: Ask. Give credit where it's due. Then... ?

Genre: General. Humor/Drama/Angst/Romance/Action/Adventure

Story Summary: Sequel to Mako Blue Horizon. With Cloud's death weighing heavily on everyone' minds, the journey becomes tainted with a need for revenge. During the while Cloud finds out just how hard it is to deal with a madwoman.

Chapter Summary: Hmm... What's this Squall's found? Cloud gets cornered on the Highwind. Hojo reflects on things done and past (having a bit to do with Zack). And Reeve shivers aboard the green chocobo.

Disclaimer: Dun own them, wish I did.

Author's notes: I figure... Normal thinking is between 'these things'. Jenova is going to be between -these, 'cause I didn't feel like being more creative for her-. And Aerith is going to be between these. I suppose I also need something for talking through electronics. That will be between these. When Laguna is "interpreting" what Ward is "saying", it'll be like his normal thoughts.

Warnings: Very AU. Seph at his worst (appearance-wise). Hojo POV. Scary, isn't it?

* * *

Beach Near Mideel

"Squall!"

Squall looked up from the face that he was currently studying. "What?"

Seifer growled loudly from his 'lookout' about halfway up a tree. "I can't see a damned thing from up here... Have you seen anything?"

Squall dropped into a crouch next to the figure in the sand. "Yeah. I think I found what we were looking for." He pressed his fingers to the man's neck, feeling vaguely relieved to find that there was indeed a pulse. "Looks like he's alive, too." He held his hand over the other's mouth for a moment, checking for breath. "He isn't breathing well, though." Squall sighed. So much for this being an easy job. "Do you have the PHS?"

"You want me to... Whoa!!"

Squall winced at the crackling of branches, and again at the sound of Seifer's landing in the brush somewhere behind him. "Yes, I want you to call Cloud." And while Seifer did that, Squall would sit and stare at the man lying in front of him in the sand. He really _did_ look like the General Sephiroth. Cloud hadn't been kidding when he said that. Actually, he looked like what Squall would picture the General as looking like if he had had multiple nasty fights, nearly drowned, and then rolled around in the sand afterwards. Squall snorted at the thought, and then realized that he hadn't heard anything from Seifer since Seifer fell. "Hey, aren't you supposed to be making a phone call?!"

"Right. As if you would care if I broke my neck. Sheesh." Seifer sighed dramatically, and dialed what Squall assumed to be the Boss's number. He was silent for a moment, and then he began talking. "Hey, Boss. Squall says he thinks we found your man."

Squall tipped his head slightly, to listen in better.

"Alive, but breathing shallowly.

"Like three minutes, Boss.

"Right. Will do. Uhmmm...

"You'll be out here soon, right?

"Oh, and Boss?

"If this guy really is your man, look out... 'Cause Squall's just sitting there staring at him."

Squall frowned to himself. He hadn't even been looking at the guy for about half of the phone call.

"What?! Me, jealous? You've gotta be kidding me."

At that Squall had to stifle a laugh. Seifer sounded just a bit too put out by whatever it was that their boss had said.

"Like I'm the one you need to worry about. That Squall, now..."

And Squall rolled his eyes.

"Eh?

"I'll be good, Boss."

A slight smirk appeared briefly on Squall's face. He knew that Cloud had threatened Seifer's pay.

"See you tomorrow then?

"Alright. Later."

Squall waited for the final beep of the PHS being hung up before speaking. "We take him to Mideel, then?"

"Yup." Seifer approached quietly. "Jeez, he had to be a tall guy, didn't he?"

"Are you saying that you can't handle it?" Squall eyed Seifer from the corner of his eyes, issuing a silent challenge.

"Better than you can," was Seifer's response.

* * *

Aboard the Airship Highwind

Across from Yuffie, pacing from one end of the cargo hold to the other, Cloud fought off impending doom. How he hated motion sickness. He pinched the bridge of his nose, swallowing against his nausea. He was almost amused that he was holding out on it far better than Yuffie, whose face seemed to be turning various shades of green, from chartreuse to other, less flattering colors.

But looking at something that remained still while his stomach insisted that he was moving didn't help at all. He was almost relieved when his PHS rang shrilly. "'Ello, Cloud speaking." He managed to keep his voice perfectly cheerful, not allowing the person on the other end know that he was feeling more miserable than anything else.

_Hey, Boss. Squall says he thinks we found your man._ It was Seifer. With what sounded like good news... _'For once.'_

Cloud smiled, "Yeah? How's he doing?"

_Alive, but breathing shallowly._

_'Alive...'_ Cloud almost sighed with relief. That _was_ good news. "I take it you only just found him?"

_Like three minutes, Boss._ Seifer sounded annoyed about something, but Cloud didn't really care. Sephiroth was alive. Sure, Gaia had as much as told him that she would see him safely out of the Lifestream, but She couldn't exactly do anything once he had left Her care...

"Take him into town, and if he's too bad off for you to heal him up properly, take him to the clinic." A glance to the side told him that Yuffie had given up on moaning about her own stomach and was now staring at him intently, though her face was still quite green.

_Right. Will do. Uhmmm..._ Here Seifer seemed to become hesitant. Not that Cloud would ever trust that, coming from him.

"Yeah?" he asked distractedly. Yuffie was now... crawling towards him, alongside the railings in the cargo hold. What the hell was she doing?

_You'll be out here soon, right?_ Seifer's voice was suddenly rather chipper. Cloud blinked. Yuffie was gone. _'What the hell?'_

"Yeah. I'll be out by tomorrow." He ran his fingers through the hair behind his ear. Where had Yuffie gone?

_Oh, and Boss?_

"What?" Cloud frowned, eyes darting around the cargo area. There was no sign of her... anywhere.

_If this guy really is your man, look out... 'Cause Squall's just sitting there staring at him._

_'What!?' _Cloud stared at the phone. "Uhmm... Are you jealous?"

_What?! Me, jealous? You've gotta be kidding me._ Yep. He was jealous.

"Hmm... Whatever. I'll be there tomorrow... So be good."

_Like I'm the one you need to worry about. That Squall, now..._

Cloud's eyebrow twitched slightly in annoyance. "Seifer?"

_Eh?_

"Keep that up and I'll dock your pay." That was always a good threat.

And, as expected, the answer was a plain and simple _I'll be good, Boss._

"You'd better." Cloud said agreeably, still looking for Yuffie.

_See you tomorrow then?_

"Yeah."

_Alright. Later._

"Bye." He turned around, turning off the PHS, and nearly jumped out of his skin. Everyone was there. Minus Reeve, Seph and Cait Sith, that is. "Uhmm... Yeah?"

"Well?" Asked Tifa, as Jessie, standing right beside her, tapped her monkey wrench against her leg. Cid shifted uncomfortably and sneezed, setting off a round of sneezes from everyone else that still had a cold (Barret, Jessie, Yuffie, Hojo... although, Cloud wasn't all too sure why Hojo was there with them... Or, for that matter, why the man had a cold like everyone else in the party)... Except for Vincent, who stood quietly, with a tissue held to his nose. Zack, Nanaki, and Tifa, and Cloud himself, seemed to be the only ones who weren't sick (other than the occasional bout of motion sickness).

Cloud tried not to wince as Zack scratched at his nose with a claw. It was hard not to notice that scales seemed to be developing occasionally on his face too, at that. "Well?" Zack echoed, almost glaring.

Now, there isn't much that Cloud found frightening... But Zack came pretty close to those few things. He fought down the urge to scratch his own ear in discomfort. "Well what?"

Yuffie glared. "Aren't you gonna tell us what the call was about?"

Cloud wiggled stiff, leatherbound fingers at her. "Well, we gotta go to Mideel. Remember Almasy and Lionheart? They think they've found Seph." He shifted uncomfortably under the weight of many stares. "What else?"

Tifa sighed heavily. "You aren't going to tell us how he is?"

Cloud blinked. "Uhm... Alive? Breathing? Definitely unconscious, but other than that, Seifer didn't say." He shrugged and fiddled with his hair. "Anything else?"

"We can get out there pretty quickly in this," Cid said, sounding rather cheerful. "My own design, mostly. Some ShinRa designers added some things since the last time I saw her, though..." He turned toward the cockpit, and began walking. "Buttons... Lotsa buttons. And I dunno what the half of 'em _do._"

Cloud wasn't all that sure, but he may have been the only one to hear Zack's soft mutter of "Sounds an awful lot like my body..."

About an hour later, everything was about as quiet as it could be on the dirigible. Hojo smothered a sneeze in a heavily embroidered handkerchief. He wasn't sure why, but he felt more welcome amongst the members of AVALANCHE than he did working with his assistants. He found it somewhat amusing that in his search of the airship, he had found a lot of strange things... including a save point in a locker in the conference room. He had been a bit disappointed when Rufus expressly told him that he wasn't allowed to perform any experiments on the AVALANCHE crew, however.

But it wasn't like he couldn't sit back, relax, and watch the effects of a couple of old experiments. Zachary Donovan appeared to have no clue what the effects of what had been done to him would turn out to be... Hojo wasn't all that certain, either. Before pulling the young man from a scrap heap at the bottom of ShinRa tower, with the help of several assistants, he had met the young man several times... Mostly for checkups and whatnot due to his being placed in SOLDIER.

The man—boy, then—hadn't been afraid, really, of the tests required, and had suffered through the Mako poisoning and everything with a sense of humor that few could rival. He'd grown to like the boy—_"specimen,"_ something in the back of his mind said—during those few weeks, and had felt something akin to disappointment, deep and rather harsh, at seeing him so... broken. Barely alive, at that.

So, he'd attempted to put him back together. Of course, he never could leave something like that alone... He had to see that such a thing didn't happen again. But once Zack's body had been completely rehabilitated, the mind seemed to be elsewhere.

And for the first time in years, Hojo had been disappointed in his own abilities as a scientist. And yet, here he was, healthy as ever, although with a bit of strangeness... Claws, scales, horns. As far as Hojo was concerned, this wasn't such a terrible thing, really. Just a side effect of the summon materia that had been lost to the mako vat. Now if only he could figure out just what materia it had been... And convince Zack that it had all been on accident. He wasn't sure if the later was possible, but the former... He would just have to go through his papers. He would find it eventually.

* * *

Icicle Area

The green chocobo raced across the snow, the man on its back clinging for dear life. Previously, Reeve had never actually ridden a chocobo, and now he wished he had learned those few times he had been given a chance. The black and white cat on his shoulder merely cursed him seven ways to hell and back, while giving him a rundown on his doubtful parentage. Oddly enough, most of the insults were fairly accurate, and Reeve couldn't really say anything when Cait Sith called him "bastard" considering that his parents never did marry.

"Do you even know which way we should be going, Reeve!?" the cat yelled in his ear. Luckily, the heavy mountain winds dulled down the shrill voice to a tolerable level.

"We're trying to get to Icicle Inn! If we follow the mountain ridges, heading west, we should be able to find it," he yelled back, uncertain if the cat would even be able to hear him. His deeper voice would be more easily lost in the roar of the wind than Cait Sith's higher one.

"Well, if we're stickin' to the ridge, I'm glad I'm a robot! But, unfortunately for you, you're not! We should stop somewhere where the wind won't get at us, and rest the chocobo, at the very least!"

"We should be almost there!" he called. "One more north-south running ridge, and we'll be there!"

"And how do you know that!?"

He halted the chocobo, and lifted the map so that Cait Sith could see it. The wind tried to tear it from his hands, but he clung to it unrelentingly. Cait Sith leaned over his shoulder, and eyed it.

"We should go down to the south a bit, 'til we hit that southern ridge! We'll be more out of the wind, that way!"

Reeve nodded, and tucked the map back into the heavy winter coat the old man had given him. No matter how annoying Cait Sith was at times, he _was_ a robot, and that made his mind more logical in some ways than Reeve could ever hope for his own to be. "This is going to take a while," he muttered, the wind snatching his voice before the cat on his shoulder even knew he had spoken. "A long while."

* * *

You all know the drill... read review.

Danyella Skyler Silverfire: I seem to have lost your review... But I know you did... So uh... tell me what you think, okies? I'm gonna go work on that rewrite, now.

Braided Baka Girl, Yay! More Squall and Seifer! And as for the Cat-Reno thing... Eh, I guess it is a pity, but I'd known how far his and Zack's things were gonna go, from the start. Heh. As for Squall and Laguna.... Hmm... Squall hasn't heard from his dad in forever, and, as in VIII, was raised in an orphanage... If either knows anything about it, it's gonna be Laguna. Amusing misquote. I read part of that fic, too... Didn't really get into it though.

Angefantasy, Yeah, Jenova's messing with at least as many things as she was in the game... So sorry about the wait. Glad you still like it though. As for Squall and Seifer... The lazy bit with Squall is because I see him as being a bit cat-like in the way he acts... You know, the "I-did-it-on-purpose-even-if-it-was-so-totally-an-accident" thing. Gotta love cats. I'll try and post a bit more often, now.

Narcissistic-Fruitcake, Hope you like the rest of what's up as much as you liked the previous chapters.

Jessyca, Don't worry about them too much, they'll be back... Not sure if I'm gonna kill anyone else though. Unfortunately, I think angst may actually be part of what I have the fic designated as... Sorry if it seems a little too depressing at times... Heheheh...

Miniature Rant of the Day-

Another-nothing-in-particular: I'm bored out of my mind. The dog is driving me insane, and I need to get a job. One of these days, I swear, I will... But for now... Maybe I shouldn't play video games so much, eh? I've gotten this little minesweeper addiction, and its really getting on my nerves, yup, driving me up the wall.... Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

If you actually read my rants, thank you.

Thank you, for reading.


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